Webb of Lies
by Calypso Diangelos
Summary: A woman who once saved Alec's life could mean a cure for Max and Logan, but her secrets are entwined deeply with those of Ames White, and unraveling her duplicity will test the sanity of all involved. M/L O/O
1. Chances and Discoveries

Web of Lies

Calypso

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Disclaimer: Logan, Max, Alec, Joshua and White do not belong to me. This is being written for entertainment purposes only. As I have no money, please don't sue. Anastasia, and Jon however do belong to me. Do not use them or any part of this story without contacting me first. My AIM is on my profile page.

Set after the episode Exposure - S2x16

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Chapter 1: Chance and Discovery

In the darkness of the early dawn Alec lay still and extended his senses, deliberately he forced himself to focus on every strand of sound and every fiber of scent the night possessed until at last he found what had roused him. It was the uneven thumping of something outside his door, the sound was muffled and strained and further concentration made him realize that whoever it originated from was leaning heavily against said door and was hurt. Rising with a speed and celerity breed from years of training he dressed and slipped to his door. "Who's there?"

"X - " The voice was raspy, so much so that a normal person would never have heard it. "5- 7" The breathing was labored and the words were strained, but Alec had recognized the voice and did not need to hear the rest of it. Opening the door he caught the man who feel without its support. Dragging him indoors he slammed the door shut. 

"Were you followed?" The man shook his head and it didn't take long for Alec to see the dark stains on the man's clothing. "Were you shot?" The man nodded. Putting him gently on the floor. Alec tried to get to the wounds, but found his arm caught by the X5 lying on the floor.

"Don't - too late." He struggled for breath but even so his hold was strong. "They've got her." The words were strange, and Alec didn't understand, but he let the man continue, who knew how many breathes he had left. "Take this, if she's - alive, - she'll contact you here." The man pressed a bloody beeper into Alec's palm. "Promise me - you'll save her." 

"Who?" Alec took the beeper from the X5 but it didn't serve to answer any of his questions. "Who is she? And who are they?"

"Ana -" The man struggled once more, but this time he lost. Air would not come to lungs filled with blood, but the name he'd meant to say filled Alec's brain with shock. _Anastasia_

***

"Hey Joshua, you up?" Max let the door to Joshua's place bang closed behind her. Her arms were filled to the brim with Grocery bags. Walking to the Kitchen she deposited them unceremoniously on a table before resuming her search. "Yo big fella, you in here?" Strolling into the room where Joshua kept his paintings Max found him asleep in front of a half finished canvas with brush still in hand. Smiling to herself she took the palate from where it lay next to him and deposited it on a table where it would be less prone to accidents. As she was about to turn back and wake him, she caught sight of a picture on the desk with the corner of her eye. Curious, she pulled it out from under the tables littered contents and nearly dropped it in shook. The photograph was old, in her judgement it was likely it'd been taken at least fifteen years ago. There was a woman, or rather a girl in it with long black hair. Behind her stood a man whose face could not be seen thanks to water damage in that corner of the photograph. In his hand he held a cane with a monkey at its top. At her side stood a young man - whom though smiling and quite young - was unmistakably Ames White.

Getting over her initial shock Max moved over to Joshua and shook him. "Time to wake up Joshua."

"Ahhh!" Still not used to being woken by someone else, Joshua jumped awake and then fumbled to catch his paintbrush, which had been thrown in the air as he awoke.

"Hey, it's only me." Seeing Max, Joshua tilted his head rather sheepishly.

"Sorry - little fella startled big fella." Rubbing the top of his head as he was prone to when embarrassed Joshua averted his eyes from Max.

"It's ok." Max smiled and moved till she was besides Joshua. "Could you tell me where you got this picture of White"

"Not of White - Picture is of father. See - that father's cane." Pointing to the man whose face was ruined Joshua ran his finger up and down the cane he held. "Found picture in one of fathers books - downstairs." 

Max studied the picture a moment longer, trying to figure out what implications it might have. "Look, Joshua, I gotta get to work. You mind if I hold on to this?"

"Joshua don't mind." Smiling broadly Max thanked Joshua and gave him hug before turning and heading to the door.

"Oh - by the way. Food's in the kitchen." Smiling again, Max turned and left. Making a mental note to drop by Logan's place after work that day.

***

"We found her when we were extracting an X5 last night - or rather early this morning sir. When she started fighting we assumed she was another one of them." A tall young man in a military uniform stood before White at strict attention, yet even though his posture and voice were clear, White could sense the disease flowing through him. "Apparently we were wrong sir."

"Wrong?" Not one to let a mistake go by unpunished White let his voice drip with menace and disgust. "Let me get this straight, the X5 you were sent to extract got away, and the one you did get you were _wrong _about?"

"She fought like an X-series sir. - Almost better then 452 - but after we'd brought her down, we found that she had no barcode." White's eyes narrowed on the man, if looks could kill this man could've kissed his next five reincarnations good-bye.

"You're sure she didn't just have the barcode removed?"

"No sir, there were no signs in her DNA that a barcode had ever been there." _No bar code. _If there wasn't a barcode then she probably wasn't Manticore, but the alternative didn't seem much better - could one his own kind really been stupid enough to have gotten caught by this bunch?

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to see this anomaly." Getting up White followed the lt. out of his office toward the holding area where this one was kept. "Is she conscious?" 

"No sir." As the young man stopped walking a guard unlocked the door to the cell in which this woman was being kept. Walking in alone, White first pulled aside her hair to make sure that his men were right. When he saw that she really did have no bar code he turned her around onto her back.

When he saw her face, he barely concealed the sharp intake of breath that came with recognition. Outwardly he managed to remain impassive though turmoil roiled inside him. He was sure one of the men outside said something but the roaring in his ears was too loud to be heard over. Rising he spun sharply on his heel. "Leave her there, let no one see her and keep a guard on that door at all times." Barking out orders he marched back towards his office and slammed the door behind him, too disconcerted to even think.

As he sat there the image of her face branded itself on his brain, tormenting him with confusion and anger. Was it really her? Could the woman in that cell really be _Anastasia_?

AN: Please review and tell me if I should continue this. I'm pretty sure where this is going, but if no one's interested in reading then I probably won't waste the time writing. Also, I'm not very good with dialogue so I wouldn't mind a few pointers. Thank you.


	2. Memories

Chap 2

Memories

"Yo Bo, something is up with your boy over there." Original Cindy tapped Max on the shoulder as she sipped a soda in between runs. 

"What do ya mean?" 

"He just apologized for bumping into me - so either Hell's frozen over, or something's up." Max turned a skeptical eyebrow to where Alec was standing waiting for a run. She noticed that he was staring rather intently at an empty wall. To be sure, he'd been acting strange all day - as in he'd actually passed the time working. Now, it was almost closing time and he still seemed eager to be occupied.

"Something's always up with Alec." Original Cindy could only give Max's light dismissal of the subject an 'are you crazy look.' When something was up with Alec it was something big - or, to be more accurate, something that was likely to get someone killed. "Alright!" Max knew that Original Cindy was right, but she wanted to get over Logan's with that photo and stopping to interrogate Alex might take more time then she had. Depositing her drink in a nearby garbage can she walked up behind Alec in not so silent mode. "Yo, you want to tell me what's going on?"

Despite her lack of Stealth Max still caused Alec to jump when he heard her voice, she could see him tense into attack mode even before he turned around to face her. "Max! I uh…" For once, Alec was at a lack of words, or rather he was too preoccupied to actually say them. Looking at him closely for the first time that day she saw a little of the fatigue that he seemed to be feeling. 

"Alright, what did you do this time?" She knew that her choice of words probably wasn't exactly appropriate for getting most people to open up, but then again Alec wasn't most people. Immediately Alec became defensive if not put off. 

"What makes you think I did something - cuz for your information I didn't." Max could tell by his weak defense that something really was wrong, more so then she originally thought. However she had never quite been the sensitive type and her automatic reaction was to shrug it all off - which she did.

"Whatever - all I know is that I need to get this photo over to Logan and - " Alec had grabbed Max's hand the moment he saw what she was holding. She had waved it front of his face in a careless manor, but she knew that his genetic enhancements would let him see it as clearly as if she'd held it to his face. Max had expected some type of a reaction from Alec, she had hoped for a well-hidden interest, what she got was an intense focus.

"Where did you get this?" The tone Alec used was one he'd learned at Manticore, one he'd used when it was necessary to interrogate a strong opponent. The tone however, caught the attention of a few people around them, and Alec realized that if they continued the conversation here it might just end up on the front page of that tabloid that hunted transgenics. Hissing through his teeth, Alec half dragged Max out of Jam Pony, the stares that followed them were curious but thankfully their thoughts wondered no where near the truth.

***

"Now tell me, where the hell did you get this?" Alec's tone was really beginning to get to her, so Max tried to snatch the photo away from Alec. Unfortunately it turned out that he was quicker. "Answer me damn it!"

"I found it at Joshua's place alright!" Max tried once again to get the photograph from him but once again he pulled it away. "And why the hell are you so interested in a picture of White anyway?" A shadow passed over Alec's face, it was brief but Max caught it. "It wasn't White that caught your attention was it?" Alec answered her with silence and she knew immediately that she was right. "It has something to do with that girl." Once again he refused to answer her, but this time he at least said something.

"You're right about getting this to Logan though, he can probably do something with it - like find out why Sandeman had a picture of White." Putting the picture in one of his pockets Alec went to go get his bike, leaving Max no other choice then to simply follow suit.

*** 

The darkness of her cell was comforting when Anastasia at last awoke from the drug-induced sleep she had previously been in. Taking a deep breath she tried to clear some of the fog from her brain. The last thing she remembered was being surrounded by soldiers as she told Jon to run for his life, from there it was nothing but darkness. In her cell there was no moonlight, but some instinctive sense told her that it was nighttime. After zipping up the black jacket that she had been wearing Anastasia tried to find her balance but found a wave of dizziness wash over her instead. In that instant she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and a strong arm go around her waist, pinning one of her arms against her side.

"Don't fight me, I'm here to get you out." Anastasia had heard that voice somewhere before - but for the life of her, she couldn't remember where. However, upon quickly evaluating her situation she realized that complying was probably the best idea. He had told her not to fight, which meant that he probably didn't realize that she hadn't completely shaken off the effects of the drug yet. Better to let an enemy underestimate you then overestimate you. She relaxed slightly and nodded into the hand that was over her face. "Good, there's a trap door behind me, when I let go of you, you should head to it. It's a drop of about twenty feet if you don't find the ladder so be careful." The arms around her loosened and she felt her mysterious rescuer step away from her. Waiting until he stopped moving she turned around and headed for the 'trap door' he'd spoken about. 

When she saw it, she almost laughed at its simplicity. On the concrete floor there was a hole that was about three by three feet. Beside it was a concrete block about six inches in thickness. From her side of the floor, she would never have found that door, however someone on the other side could easily lift it up - at least they could if they were like her.

Seeing how her rescuer got in made her feel a little bit better, if he'd been able to lift that slab then he was in all likelihood someone she'd met at Manticore. Finding the ladder easily she quickly lowered herself down, then felt her companion follow suit. Once on the underground level, she tried to turn around and catch sight of him, but he dropped to the floor before she could and directed her to walk straight. After a time they came to another ladder and he directed her to go up. This time it was a sewer main and not a prison floor. Once she was out she quickly surveyed her surroundings, giving her companion enough time to come out of the sewers behind her. She wanted to turn around and see who it was that had helped her escape, but a needle in the back of her neck caught her by surprise, returning her to her previous state of oblivion.

***

Ames caught Anastasia as she fell, picking her up as lightly as if she had been a kitten. Getting her out had been easier then he'd thought it would be, especially since there was no security camera in the cell to which she'd been assigned - a lucky break when one considered the difficulty he might have been put through. Quickly, he deposited her in the trunk of his car before getting into the driver's seat and turning on the ignition. Putting the needle away in his glove compartment he estimated that the drugs he'd used on her would last two hours at the most, but that was alright, his destination was only a few miles away, leaving plenty of time for what he had in mind.

***

Max, Alec, and Logan sat and stood uncomfortably in the latter's living room. Between them the photo Max had found lay on Logan's coffee table. "So basically you think that White and Sandeman were connected at some point in the past - and you think they still might be?" Max nodded at Logan though he was only repeating what she'd said to him.

"I was hoping that maybe you could think of a way to repair the water damage done to the photograph - show us what Sandeman looks like." As she spoke, Max kept her eyes carefully averted from Logan, after everything that had happened it still hurt too much to look at him.

"I see." Logan noticed Max's subtle avoidance of him, and though he knew it was her way of trying to keep him alive it only served to make things more painful. "I'll do what I can, but I still don't get why Alec was hanging on to this photo like it was a life line when he came in." From where he stood staring out the window Alec stirred at the mention of his name, though he looked Logan in the eye, he didn't offer to provide an explanation. "I'm gonna need all the information I can get… like maybe who that girl is?" For once, Logan had managed to hit the nail on the head, and Alec was visibly jarred. For the first time since they'd gotten there Alec opened his mouth.

"This morning I woke up to find a dying transgenic on my doorstep. His designation was X5- 737, we'd worked together a few times back at Manticore." Alec lowered the volume of his voice as he suddenly felt Logan and Max's eyes concentrate on him. "He told me that - that a mutual friend of ours named had been captured. I met Anastasia when I was in psycho evaluation about five years ago…

~~

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The room that they had squeezed him into was barely larger then a bathroom stall. There was nothing but resounding silence and the faintest glimmer of light. By now the hunger had began to begun to get to him, but he was too mentally exhausted to notice, thankful that the doctors had left him alone for more then a few a hours this time around.

Just as he began to drift off, he heard a faint step in the hallway, and despair filled his brain when he thought that it might be them returning. Nearby he heard the footsteps stop, but he didn't hear the clanking of keys. Finally he heard the sliding of the viewing portal. "Psst. Come here!" The voice was definitely not one of the doctors, but it was however friendly. When he walked up to the door he was surprised to see a hand shove a bit of bread through it. "I saw them dragging you back to your cell yesterday, and I knew that no ever feeds the prisoners in this hallway. I would've gotten you some water, but there was no way of doing that without letting them know about it." Though he heard her talking Alec was too busy tearing into the bread to pay the voice much attention. At last it occurred to him though that a thank you might be in order. Stopping for a second he stepped up to the viewing slot and saw that the girl on the other side was no older then fifteen, she smiled once at him "I'm Anastasia." And then fled from that hallway lined with cells…

~~

"I never quite figured out how she was able to get food to me when most of the others couldn't even get out of the mess hall. But I am sure about one thing though, I was watching her as she left - Anastasia had no barcode." Max digested Alec's information with some shock, and Logon was busy analyzing what it meant. When their eyes met however, a silent message passed between them. Someone thought this girl was worth dying for, and if so, then there had to be a reason why. 

AN: Sorry about all the typos in the last chapter, I'd forgotten to reread it. In all honesty I'd been hoping for a little more interest in the fic, but it is my first Dark Angel story so I'm glad that anyone at all is reading this. I have an interview at Columbia University next week so wish me luck… hopefully things will go well and if not… well at least your reviews will make me smile! (I know, what a not-so-subtle hint =P )


	3. Old Friends

Chapter 3

Old Friends

"Anything?" Max rested her hands on the back of Logan's chair as he stared into the computer screen. On it were photos from every computer database in the country. As she tried to decipher just how he was going to find Anastasia like this, the smell of his shampoo reminded her that it wasn't safe for them to be standing this close.

"No, this would be a lot easier if we had a more recent picture - but we work with what we've got right?" Logan's tone was plaintive had it had been since she'd arrived. As he spoke he didn't turn away from his computers, trying to remain professional by ignoring how Max's presence was distracting him. But it didn't serve much of a purpose as she had easily seen him tense at the sound of her voice. Feeling her step back away from him only increased is torment and not for the first time he mentally cursed at Lydecker and everyone else from Manticore who had died on him before they had a chance to get rid of this virus.

In the living room Alec watched Max and Logan with some of his usual cynicism, not believing how miserably those two were failing at looking nonchalant and friendly. In his opinion an Elephant could've broken down the door with more subtlety. In his own way he felt bad for them, but how could anyone not feel sorry for two people so obviously in love and so heart-wrenchingly apart? In comparison to their circumstances Romeo and Juliet's relationship had been a field day. Suddenly it occurred to Alec that being around Logan too much was beginning to make him a sap, shaking it off he got up and decided to interrupt the morose little scene. "Hey, if you need a more recent picture maybe Max and I can dig around Joshua's place a little." 

"Yeah, sure." Logan looked at Alec with a raised eyebrow and the slightest bit of hostility. Now waiting for Max to answer Alec handed her jacket to her and led her out the door.

"What the hell was that about?" Alec only rolled his eyes at Max's angry words.

"Let's just say that watching you two was making me sick - I can listen to Puccini if I want a little anguish in my life." For that comment, Alec just narrowly ducked a smack in the head. 

"Just shut up and get moving."

***

Sitting on the edge on the bed in his guestroom, Ames White brushed a strand of black hair off of her face as Anastasia slept. With a chill he finally came to grips with the fact that this was really her. He had ran the blood work, not the thorough DNA tests the agency used, just enough to certify that she wasn't a Manticore imitation or a clone. It wasn't something he wanted to believe, and everything from his eyes to his brain told him that it was a trick of some sort. How else could she still be so young? The logical part of him reminded him that the conclave aged gracefully, he himself looked closer to nearly thirty then nearly forty, but Anastasia looked more like barely twenty then mid thirties. 

She seemed so serene now, her face was relaxed and peaceful, not anything like the half-wicked; half-teasing expressions she wore when awake. Time hadn't changed her much, she was still several inches shorter then him and as slim as she was pale. The black sheets and pillows seem to swallow her up, making her look fragile and mistakenly innocent.

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"Ames, Ames!" With a thud seventeen-year-old Ames White fell out of his bed having been unceremoniously pushed by a pair of insistent hands. "Will you get up already?" With a groan he raised him off the floor, and forced his eyes open as he did so. After adjusting to the dark he saw a shape in his room which could only be one thing. 

"Ana? It's two a.m.!" The fifteen-year-old girl standing by his dresser only rolled her eyes before throwing some clothing in his general direction. "What are you doing here? You could've woken Dave up!" Crossing her arms she only looked towards him, throwing both mock disdain and anger his way.

"Wake Dave? You must be nuts. Both of you sleep like the dead - and I'd know." She smirked at him but it was still dark and neither of them could see clearly. Since he slept naked Ames was glad that Anastasia hadn't brought a flashlight. "Get dressed will you? We don't have all night." Moving towards the door she cracked it and glanced into the hallway for sentries before turning back in his direction. "So are you coming or not?"

"Where?" Fully dressed at last Ames walked over to the door where she was standing. 

"Downstairs of course." Downstairs, he didn't have to ask where downstairs, the only things downstairs was the alter and the snakes. 

"Ana, you're insane." He reached out to grab her arm but she'd already slipped out the door. Cursing he followed her. "And just what the hell do you intend to do once you're there?" Ducking behind a wall tapestry for a second the two waited for the hall sentries to pass before walking down another corridor. Once past the intersection she turned to him with a grin. 

"Just a little fun." Fun - right, her idea of fun usually involved him taking the rap for something she did. Common sense told him to turn around and leave her to her own fate, but fascination and a twisted sense of concern kept him from doing so. After a few minutes more of silence they were past all the guards and nearing the pen where **they **were kept.

"Ames, have you ever wondered if you were good enough?" He knew she was talking about the council, but he was surprised that she'd dragged him all the way down here just to ask him that.

"Of course, but they say we'll find out when we're ready to know." She glanced at him sadly, as if wondering what they'd done to his brain.

"Wouldn't you rather know now?" His forehead scrunched up for a second, but then he realized what she intended to do.

"Ana don't! What if you're not ready? They'll find out!" He wanted to stop her, but Anastasia was too fixated on the chest inside of the cage to notice. Easily jimmying the lock she began to work on the one keeping the chest closed. "Don't!" Having followed her, he grabbed both her arms and held them against her torso. "Ana this is sacrilege. You know that." She shrugged, and he could feel her disdain at his fear.

"Do what you want, I've already decided." Cursing at her stubbornness he tried to pick her up and physically carry her away, unfortunately she knew that he didn't want to get caught and took advantage of that. "If you try to make me leave, I'll fight you - you know I can, and I think you also know how much noise we'd end up making." Glaring at her, her cursed before backing out of the cage, watching with a morbid fascination as she lifted one of the snakes from their resting-place. Gently she took it in her hands, looking it in the eyes. To his surprise it didn't struggle and when she spoke the commands, it didn't bite her but compliantly lowered its head. With triumph she turned to him glancing his way with teasing eyes and tinkling laughter.

The image of the memory faded, but her laughter didn't, and as Anastasia began to stir he watched her with both expectancy and tentative disappointment. She hadn't seemed to recognize him before - so perhaps she didn't remember any of it. When she opened her eyes, they darted around with alarm and she tried to raise herself up out of bed, only to collapse back down from all the drugs that had been introduced to her system that day. Finally her eyes rested on him. "Where am I?"

"Safe." She didn't exactly seem to _not_ recognize him rather her actions weren't anything like what he'd been expecting. She didn't seem surprised to see him, but neither did she seem to care that he was there. Seeming satisfied with his answer she glanced around the room noting the lack of windows and how everything seemed to be deceptively normal. Reaching out to touch the bedpost she recognized that it was steel beneath the wood like paint and that the rest of the room was likely the same.

"We know each other well don't we?" Her tone was ever so calm, ever so relaxed, but for some reason it conveyed coldness. 

"Of course." He'd expected her to be cold to him, especially after how they'd last parted, but this was just disconcerting.

"Then why don't I have a single memory of you?" She finally looked at him, and it was something akin to despair and hate that plagued her eyes. He couldn't answer her, and she could tell that he looked as if she'd stabbed him. For a full minute he was silent.

"You don't remember anything at all?" She looked puzzled, as if the question strained her thinking.

"I remember your voice clearly… but the rest..." Her voice drifted off and he became completely still. Finally he saw that she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Sleep now, I'll return in the morning." Rising he walked directly to the door. Once it had been closed and locked behind him he turned to the drawer in the hall, out of it he pulled a photograph one with the two of them standing besides Sandeman. Cursing at Sandeman he tore it to shreds before he was able to regain his self-control. Grab his coat he stormed out of his apartment, needing time to think and to figure out just how he was going keep the conclave from finding out that he had Ana.

***

"Hey Joshua, are you sure that's everything?" Max and Alec were covered in dust and sweat. For the past hour that had sifted through every box of books that they could find in the basement. So far they had found only one other picture and it was of a class of very young X5's that Alec identified as his own.

"Joshua sure. No more books." Depressed the two of them rose and started dusting themselves off. Looking over at Alec Max was about to make a sarcastic comment when she saw the utterly dejected look on his face. Keeping her mouth shut she turned back to dusting her clothes.

"There has to be something here." Max and Joshua both heard Alec's frustration and neither chose to comment on it. "So he used two of the photographs as bookmarks - that doesn't mean he couldn't have had a photo album somewhere." Max was about to tell Alec that it would take weeks to go through everything when Joshua broke in.

"Father's room upstairs - locked door in desk. Joshua never opened - opening means ruining fathers desk." It was a faint hope, but it was the only one that Joshua had to offer. Alec almost bolted out of the basement towards the bedroom, but Max quickly stopped him.

"Alec, the floor up there's unstable, I've seen the desk but the ground beneath it might not support your weight." Alec looked at her and nodded his thanks for the warning before continuing on his way. For some reason he just seemed so damn fixated on it all.

Once upstairs Alec walked tentatively into the room, behind him Max paused at the door, not willing to test the floor herself. The desk was made of good oak and Alec doubted that he could break it himself. What he could do however was drag it across the room and have Max help them. The two X5's tried but unfortunately neither was strong enough. Joshua on the other hand was. It took some convincing, but Max and Alec were Joshua's family and it wasn't hard for him to see just how much this meant to Alec. With some hesitation he pulled hard on of the drawers, causing the lock to snap. The drawer however had nothing but a few blank envelopes in it, Alec wanted to drop it and go to the next one when Max deterred him. "Try opening a few of those envelopes." Alec hesitated but agreed a moment later he was glad he had bothered. 

"That's her." From the envelope he pulled out a photograph and a letter. "And next to her, that's Jon - or X5-737, the one that died this morning." This time, Anastasia's hair was braided and she wore military fatigues. She was leaning against a wire fence glancing in the direction of the Camera. Behind her was an X5 also in Military attire. Looking at the letter Max saw that it was written in Refro's handwriting. It wasn't so much a letter as a notice of some sort. However it was written in a language that Max could neither understand nor decode. Meanwhile Alec had picked up another envelope and opened it. In this one there was another photograph, this time older. "What the heck?" Glancing over Alec's shoulder Max saw that it was also of Anastasia only her hair was shorter. The disconcerting thing was that even though this photograph was much older - she could tell because White, who was also in it, was much younger - Anastasia looked the same age as she had in the previous one. 

Max could see Alec studying both photo's with intensity, so much so that veins in the back of his neck could be seen. "Alec," Placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, Max moved forward. Oddly enough, the use of a gentle voice on her part caused him to jump a little. "Listen, I heard what you told Logan about Anastasia helping you out once but that doesn't explain why you're so intense on finding her." 

Alec looked hard at Max, as if unsure of what to say. "It's not just her, it's Jon. Manticore didn't usually let us work in pairs and we were one of the few exceptions. He hauled my ass out of trouble more then once. Of all the years I spent in there he was the only friend I made, and then one day I screwed up big time…

__

"I said that's not an option!" The yelling in the next room managed at last to wake Alec, besides him Jon was still out cold, his head having now been roughly bandaged. "They screwed up - damn right. But if you think for a second that eliminating two fully operational X5's is going to set some kind of example you are dead wrong." Not fully listening to the conversation going on outside Alec checked Jon's vitals. He was still alive, if barely. 

"If we just let this go the other X-series will - "

"The other X series will do nothing! Killing them off only weakens our operational capacity and makes us look incompetent to the board is that understood? It you'd rather not have X5-737 doing fieldwork then have him reassigned as my personal guard." The voices one male and one female faded slightly, and Alec tried to rouse Jon. Groaning the other X5 got up. At that moment the door slid open and the two tried to stand at attention. 

At the door stood Lydecker and a woman that Alec recognized as the one who had handed him bread in phy-ops. Surprised he froze for a second, missing the question Lydecker asked. Thankfully Jon interjected. "I did sir. X5-494 was not the one who screwed up." 

"I see." Lydecker's jaw tensed and it seemed like he was about to lash out. But the woman behind him stopped him.

"Then it seems I was right." Cold and impassively she looked the two transgenics up and down before issuing an order to Lydecker. "In which case have X5-737 cleaned up and reassigned. X5-494 can return to his normal duties." She pivoted on her heal and left then, leaving a stunned Alec trying to figure out just who she was to be giving Lydecker orders.

… She showed me kindness twice, and Jon's dying wish was that I rescue her from White or who ever the hell got her. I owe that much to him Max. And it's not something I intend to give up on." Max looked at Alec with something akin to a new opinion. It seemed that there was a part of him and every X5 who'd been left behind at Manticore that she never knew a part that contained a fierce loyalty and a strong determination. Oddly she found her thoughts wavering towards Logan and wondering just what he would've thought if he could see the part of her that Manticore had buried.

"We'll find her Alec, and you'll keep your promise to your friend." Behind them, Joshua had heard the story too. And hugging them tightly he added his own voice to that promise.

AN: Just a little clarification, I think I may have written something a little clumsily (big surprise huh?) But the picture Max found contains three people: White, Sandeman, and Anastasia, they don't know what Sandeman looks like yet because his face was ruined by a water stain (convenient - no?). 

Thanks to all for the feedback, but it's a little depressing when it feels like there are less and less people reading, (some of you must write fanfiction - surely you agree?) Or am I just being glum and over analytical? Thanks again for the reviews, and like I said if there's anything that seems wrong or off please feel free to tell me, constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you! 

Calypso 


	4. Connections

AN: Please disregard all information about White, Sandeman, and the cult given in 'Love amongst the runes' when reading this fic - if you don't it will become very confusing - not to mention possibly incestuous. (Although the last part is more of a threat then a hint.)

Chap 4

Connections

"Hey Logan, we found some more photos." Max and Alec strolled into Logan's apartment as casually as if they had just dropped by from work though in actuality they'd strolled in at two am. Logan sat where he'd been when they'd left, toiling away at the computer with the photo that they'd given him earlier. 

"I've got something too." He turned around slowly, still working on the computer with one hand as he spoke. "I was able to tap into a phone call White got about half an hour ago. Apparently a woman they captured today escaped - the thing is no one can figure out how. White sounded upset but way to calm considering how the person on the other end of the line sounded. If I had my guess I'd say he's got her." Max handed Logan the photos cautiously, making sure their hands didn't touch. Their eyes met for the slightest second, but both immediately averted their gaze. 

"Then lets mobilize." Alec started preparing to move almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He was almost out the door by the time he noticed that neither Max nor Logan had made a move. 

"Alec, we don't where she is yet. White's old place hasn't been lived in for months and we've been up all night. We move now, we give White the advantage. It was the mistake Manticore taught us not to make - remember?" Alec looked at Max like she was a bug when she said that. Didn't she understand that he'd already lost one friend today? If he didn't at least try to save Anastasia, what kind of person would he be? Max saw this and walked over to where Alec stood, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Go home and get some sleep, we can regroup in the morning." Alec hated what she was saying and the logical part of his mind refused to acknowledge the ring of truth. Without another word he slammed out of the apartment and out of the building. For a moment after he'd gone Max and Logan stood in a somewhat tense tableau, unsure of whether or not they should follow him, at last Max shrugged and turned back to Logan. "Guess he needs his space."

"Yeah, kind of reminds me of you." Logan attempted a smile, but it wasn't much of one, and after about a millisecond he gave it up. Max saw the sad look that flitted through his eyes, and while all she wanted to do was run and hug him but instead she did what came instinctively and turned completely business.

"There's more to this then Alec's aware of Logan. Look at those photo's - the one we brought earlier too, they were taken at least ten years apart - but Anastasia didn't age a bit." Logan looked over the photographs carefully and an idea began to form in his mind, connecting the dots like every good reporter did.

"So she must've been someone important to Sandeman. Someone he cared enough about to keep photographs of - and go through the trouble of cloning." Max nodded slightly, and Logan continued. "And this one, the photo with the X5 it was taken recently, within the last few years at least, which tells us that Sandeman's been back in Seattle - and at his old place."

Logan stopped speaking then; from the look on Max's face he could see that the full magnitude of their discovery had hit her with its full force at last. Like lightning her mind darted from one point to the next connecting each person and event. "She knows where Sandeman is - that's why she matters so much." 

Logan nodded sagely, looking at Max with gravity. "Yeah, she knows where Sandeman is, but the question is does White?" The two contemplated the thought for a second, but another thought soon took over. Find Anastasia and they would find Sandeman, find Sandeman and find the cure to their virus.

***

Anastasia awoke at around four in the morning. There were no clocks and no sunlight in the room where she'd been locked but common sense told her that she'd been out for at least six hours since she last woke. Remembering the man that had stood over her when she last woke brought a haze of confusion to her mind. Not one to sit around and brood she quickly got up and did something with her time by showering and trying to reverse the after effects of all the tranquilizers she'd been given with some unopened cosmetics she found in the vanity. 

Once she was finished she sat quietly down on the bed and tried desperately to place the face and voice of her mysterious captor, looking for any advantage at all. 

***

Groaning slightly, Ames White slammed the front door of his apartment closed behind him. He had spent the entire night testing the limit of his acting skills by appearing furious over the loss of Anastasia. He did not necessarily need the hours of sleep he had missed, but after being married to someone who did for ten years it had become a habit he disliked having to do without. Home at last he threw aside his suit jacket and tie with little of his usual care, not at all distressed that his appearance was no where near it's usual level of neatness. 

Unlocking Anastasia's door he knocked twice before opening it. "May I come in?" Anastasia looked up at him with disbelief in her eyes - was he mocking her or did he simply not see how ludicrous it was for him to be asking permission from her. Giving him an icy stare she shrugged, not bothering to get up from where she sat. "You're mad at me aren't you?" Once again she didn't reply and continued to stare at the wall behind him. "Did you at least sleep well?" Hearing the note of apologetic desperation in his voice Ana at last relented.

"With all the tranqs you doped me up on? How could I not have?" Ana raised one eyebrow and gave him a mocking look that he remembered all to well. Feeling as if they had fallen back into familiar rolls White rolled his eyes at her and sat down facing her. Watching him she tilted her head slightly and rested the side of her head on two of her fingers. At last she lifted the side of her mouth in a half smile. "Damn Ames, I've never seen you so awry." He seemed to start, it was the first time she'd used his name or acknowledged that she recognized him. 

"Oh?" He wasn't sure exactly what to say, especially since he didn't know how much of their past she remembered.

"Yeah, you obviously haven't shaved yet and your shirts all wrinkled. I'd say you've been up all night. Covering my disappearance most likely, and figuring out whether or not to turn me over to the conclave." His jaw tightened, and she saw him tense. Remarkably she just laughed. "Will you?"

"Will I what?" He seemed angry, but she seemed to know just how to diffuse his anger. Sitting just a little straighter she leaned in until her hair brushed against him.

"Will you hand me over to the conclave or do you plan to keep me around for your own entertainment." Angrily White threw her back into the pillows, but once again she giggled, knowing that every moment she kept up her careless façade she would keep him off balance. Unfortunately, he knew enough of her game to play. 

"I don't know - what would Sandeman do?" She seemed to sober up the minute he said that, her laughter evaporating in an instant. "Or maybe you could tell me what Manticore would do if this little situation were reversed." 

"We'd kill you." The statement was plain, driven out with a malicious calm. "Just like we'd kill anyone from the conclave." The two glared at each for a second, until White decided that this wasn't how he wanted this to go.

"How much do you remember?" The question was unexpected and in truth it was the best he could've asked because it was the one question she couldn't answer.

"I… we went to school together, before Manticore… I think we were friends… I remember you playing with my hair in science class… and I remember your voice." It wasn't much of an answer, and it sounded as if she were drudging it up with difficulty. Absently she pulled her hair to one side of her shoulder, then remembered that she had nothing to tie it with. Blinking she shook of the feeling and looked up at him with an earnest expression in her eyes. "But tell me, will you turn me over to them?" 

He studied her for a second - he himself wasn't sure of the answer. "So long as you stay here, you're a contained threat. But if you leave I'm going to have to tell them I found you." 

"So I have to stay." She kept her voice soft, not liking the prospect much. But at this point she didn't see any other option, much as she needed to get home staying was her only option. At that moment she smelled something she hadn't in days _food. _She was suddenly reminded that she hadn't eaten in almost four days, at first because she didn't need to and then because the opportunity never arose. "At least say you'll feed me while I'm here?" This time White was the one to smile, reaching his arm out to her he pulled her up to a standing position and led her to the kitchen where breakfast sat waiting.

***

Alec sat in a corner of the torn up room, angrily staring down at the beeper in his hand. He had been here for hours, tearing up every inch of White's house trying to find a clue to Anastasia, and still he had found nothing. Desolation welled up in his heart, its tides carrying with them the waves of long buried guilt. After everything, all the lessons, the training, and all the missions - he couldn't even find one woman. He owed her a debt of honor, and Jon a debt of friendship. So why couldn't he do it this time - was he really as incapable as Renfro had thought? _Renfro_ - suddenly a memory fell into his mind and with it an idea. As he worked it out in his mind the sun began to rise outside. It filtered into the room and into his mind. Bringing with it the hope that new chances always did.

***

The running water in his kitchen brought pleasant memories to Ames mind, memories that he'd buried year ago. As he shaved and changed, he listened to Anastasia's quiet humming, glad that he'd trained himself to listen to sounds beneath the obvious. From the doorway to his bedroom he watched her do the dishes and wondered where she'd hidden and what she'd done in the last twenty years. "Ana." Getting her attention, he walked out into the living room and grabbed his coat from the rack. "I'm leaving now, if you want to read there are books in my study." He grabbed his keys and was about to walk out the door when she stopped him.

"Wait a minute - aren't you forgetting something?" Ana crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow at him. It wasn't a look he liked and he only shrugged at her in response. "Ames I have no clothing except what I'm wearing now. Which means I have nothing to wear to bed, no underclothes, and no normal clothing either. Not to mention, no combs, hair bands, or shoes. "

Ames was taken slightly aback - he hadn't actually thought about this much. His 'wife' had always taken care of herself, and despite how long they'd been married he'd always been so busy working that she'd always taken care of this type of thing. "So what - you want me to pick some stuff up from your apartment?" 

Ana rolled her eyes and looked at him with a sour expression. "I need clothing - not for you to know where I live. Can't you just take me shopping or at least buy something I can wear?" 

"Take you shopping? Anastasia, do you have any idea how many people are looking for you? How many people are keeping their eye on me? If you need clothing, I'll think of something, but please - try and remember that walking out that door is _not _an option." White walked out the door fast enough to avoid the plate that she threw in his direction. A half smile could be seen on his face as he walked down to the parking lot. Looked like this really was his Anastasia after all. 


	5. Presumptions and Pretenses

Some solid M/L stuff at last! Now you've just got to get through the rest of the chapter =P (which is primarily Ana.) And need I even tell you to review? 

Chap 5 - Presumptions and Pretenses 

The minute Ames' car pulled away from the building, Anastasia dropped the act of the rebellious but compliant prisoner. So far her act seemed to be working, but she couldn't be sure just how long she could keep on going. As amusing as she found White' arrogant attitude and sarcastic way of speech she was perfectly aware of the danger she was in. That he hadn't tried to interrogate her yet had not served to placate her as he'd hoped it would but rather it had served to unsettle her. If White wasn't asking question then it meant he must already have the answers she had to offer - so what did that mean for the other deflectors? And as she dried the dishes they had used for breakfast doubts and question flew through her mind at a thousand miles a minute.

She would try to use the situation to her advantage - AKA using her proximity to the enemy to gather Intel - and to not panic until she knew just what all this was about. But she had left her life and responsibilities behind without warning and she still did not know what had happened to Jon. There was a chance he'd found his way to one of the X's they'd been helping, (setting X-series' up with normal lives had been their main occupation since Manticore's collapse,) but that she couldn't be absolutely sure of his fate troubled her to no end.

The question that bothered Ana the most however was why White acted as if they knew each other intimately. Her memory about her time before Manticore was at best foggy and unfortunately she'd never bothered to ask Sandeman about her life before they deflected. It had sent alarm bells ringing when she'd found a few of her favorite foods waiting for her at breakfast. Just how well had the two of them known each other? And was their 'relationship', whatever it may have been, the reason he seemed to actually give a damn about her? Having finished with the dishes, Anastasia went to the door the gather the pieces of the broken one. It may have been slightly over theatrical of her to throw it- but she knew that little losses of temper like that would make him underestimate her in the long run.

Dumping the pieces in the trash Ana remembered what White had said about books in his study. Idly she walked around testing the few doors in the apartment until she found one that was locked from the inside, she knew it was White's and while disappointed it was what she had expected. 

Further down the hall she found the entrance to his study, a very bright room, (though it lacked the giant floor to ceiling windows his living room had,) and a very, very, large one. Two entire walls were covered by bookshelves while the other two had what were undoubtablely two way mirrors. (The mirrors were of course, on the outside of the building.) The only other objects in the room was a plush comfortable looking window seat and a massive desk who's top was eerily clear of any clutter what so ever. She gave the shelves a brief glance and decided that they could wait, choosing instead to indulge her curiosity by seeing what the desk concealed.

At first glance the desk contained only three drawers, one of which was locked and two of which were empty. Upon closer inspection however it was obvious that the third drawer had a false bottom. Intrigued Anastasia tried to open it, and found that it had been hidden in a way characteristic of the nineteen fifties. Grinning at its crudity Ana set to work on it and had it open within minutes.

Inside there was slim black photo album with a single red rose engraved onto its cover. She could tell it was old but it had obviously been taken care of. Opening it she was surprised to find a large photo of herself on the first page. She wore the conclaves ceremonial robes with a cowl drawn over her head and when this photo had been taken she was just beginning to pull the cowl away from her face. It was an eerie shot, the photo was filled with the darkness of torches and the light of stones, and she herself looked like a ghost ascending from the tunnels of Hell. Turning the page she was greeted by another photo of herself, this time with White and Sandeman besides her. Confused, Anastasia flipped through the album to find photo after photo of herself, occasionally there were others she recognized in the photos but she was the focus of every shot. 

Unpleasant bewilderment wound its way through her mind as she shut the book and put it back where she'd found it. It's not everyday one has their entire identity called into question and when it did the questions one asked seemed impossible - just who was she and why couldn't she remember? Why hadn't Sandeman ever told her just who Ames White was?

***

Max had at first been concerned when Alec came in to work unshaven and wearing what he'd been wearing when he'd left Logan's apartment the previous night. Three runs later however she was more angry and concerned. "You're crazy Alec!" He had spent the time relating his plan to her - a plan that she found Ludicrous. "It isn't possible, and even if it was I would never Logan at that kind of risk -."

"Logan's risk would be minimal Max and you know it." Alec's eyes blazed with anger and desperation as he listened to Max's argument. "Hell, he'd be in be in more danger if you went into heat and you know it!" Max stopped cold when she heard this, rounding on Alec slowing and angrily, she had every intention of hurting him badly but the haunted look on his face stopped her immediately - bringing back memories of Ben. "Please Max, just talk to him. I know you care about Logan - more then you admit even to yourself, but this might be our only chance - my only chance." Max hated to admit that he was right, but at present there was no better alternative, giving in she nodded and agreed to ask Logan for him. 

"Great, and hey if you do go into heat - I'm always around." For that comment Alec received a sharp kick to the shin from Max. "Ouch!" But as she turned away from she fought a slight grin. Same old Alec… nothing kept him down for long, and if this worked - well his 'old self' might be annoying as hell but anything was better then seeing Ben in his every motion.

***

Sitting on the window seat in Ames' study Anastasia watched the people come and go as they returned to their homes after a hard day's work. Her day had been dull to say the least, after her discovery early that morning she had found little else of interest and after reading one or two books the length of War and Peace she had decided to raid his fridge and see what she could cook up. From the state of his spice cabinet and cookware it wasn't hard for her to summarize that he didn't cook very much and for a few hours she had amused herself by trying to cook without many of the essential things any good cook needed. At last however she had conjured up something that she deemed edible and it now sat keeping warm in the oven. 

After a good while she saw a familiar Lexus draw up to the building. Enhancing her sight she watched as he got out of the car and began bags out of the trunk. The labels were all from stores that sold women's apparel and she smirked to herself as she thought about how embarrassing all that shopping must have been for him. _Serves him right._ A few moments later however she became less amused when she saw the number of bags he carried.

When she heard the front door open, she got up and walked over to where he stood in the entryway. Crossing her arms and leaning against the door of the living room she watched silently as he hung his coat and jacket up. Once he closed the door to his closet however he seemed to be unsure what to say. Keeping still and silent a few moments more Ana waited until she was sure he was unsettled to speak. "How much did you spend."

Her tone was incredulous and the accusation there stopped White dead. It wasn't what he'd expected so he answered automatically, with all of his usual sarcasm. "Why, do you plan on paying me back?"

"Nah, just trying to figure out how long you plan on keeping me here." White shrugged, this was a question he'd expected, but not one he intended to answer. 

"I just wasn't sure what you'd need." Handing the bags to her and picking a few up himself he helped carry them to her room then retreated towards the Kitchen. 

"Dinner's in the oven." He heard the words she shouted and decided to help set up the table, a bit amazed that she'd bothered to cook. It all felt odd to him, like she was playing games. "So what did you do today?" Being asked that question at the dinner table was something that he had dreaded every night of is marriage. This time however it wasn't his wife asking, and this time he could tell the truth.

"I Pretended to be angry at those incompetent government agents of mine for letting you escape. And you?" Unknowingly he had just given Anastasia information that she hadn't had before - but she'd played the spy one too many times to let on she was surprised.

"Being bored stiff." Smiling deceptively Ana washed her hands and sat down to eat. This game of theirs was getting to her, but at least now she was getting some information.

**

Later that night Ana put away the clothes White had bought for her that day. While a few items were purposely meant to either make her blush or wrinkle her nose all the other clothing, shoes, and other accessories were to her tastes - and not to mention size - exactly. All of the clothing, even the stuff he'd bought as a lark, were of good expensive quality. Looking at all of it she felt something tug at the edge of her memory as she once again wondered just what kind of relationship they had shared. In the silence of her thoughts she suddenly heard his voice and roughly pushed them aside, to her surprise however he was on the phone.

"Otto? Yeah it's me, listen if you're not busy I need a favor…." When she heard no familiar greeting (AN: pardon the pun) she lost interest and decided to give him his privacy. Finishing with one bag of clothing she moved on the next one, the first thing she pulled out made her flush scarlet. _Christ - who the hell would wear this?_

***

Logan and Max sat across from each other as they discussed Alec's plan, Logan called it crazy at first, but after some persuasion he began to see it's possibilities. "If it works, it would be genius - if it doesn't we'd be dead." Max thought as much too, but having already decided on a course of action there was little else for the two to do. After an awkward silence Logan finally remembered something with which to fill it. "I carbon dated the photo's today. The first one was taken twenty years ago, the last one two years ago." Max's brow wrinkled, that didn't make sense to her, but she let him go on anyway. "In one she's obviously with the familiars, in the other it's Manticore."

"So keep your friends close and your enemy's closer?" Max made the connection immediately - double agents were one of Manticore's specialties. "So who's the enemy and who's the friend?" Max ended her sentence with a yawn, not having slept much at all. Logan didn't say anything but wheeled out of the room to go get something. When he returned Max had fallen asleep on his couch.

Bathed in moonlight she slept with an innocence and serenity that did not exist for her in waking hours, her face was completely devoid of the pained expressions she usually wore and her eyes were free of the half sorrowful expressions that haunted her so often. Logan watched her with mingling emotions, love, sorrow, joy, all seemed to be one where she was involved.

Ever so hesitantly he reached out and dropped her jacket onto her body, wishing that touching here wasn't so lethal. He loved her, and what hurt most was that he knew she loved him as well. Yet somehow fate had deemed fit that they endure this torment. In a way Logan knew that surviving this would mean they could survive anything - but how long would it be until this virus left them?

In the night there were only the stars to hear his silent questions and if they knew the answers they certainly weren't telling him.

***

Ana woke up at roughly two AM to a sound she couldn't identify. After a few moments she realized that the sounds were coming from the living room. Getting up she quietly slipped to her door to listen for who was outside, praying that Ames hadn't lied about not handing her over to the conclave. The voices out there were all male and she heard something about a break in at White's old place. The important thing was that these people were not Familiars.

Calculating the possibilities this opportunity provided Ana quickly made her decision, stripping off her nightgown as she did so. Quickly going to the closet she slipped out a black satin robe that clung just a little more then it was supposed. Letting her hair down from the braid she'd held it in she quickly tossed it about slightly. If someone else knew she was here then perhaps she would survive after all.

"Ames, why are you entertaining guests at two in the morning?" When Ana came out of the hallway all the men seemed to jump a little not having expected a woman. White cursed silently under his breath before turning to her.

"I'm sorry Ana, we didn't mean to wake you." His eyes widened when he saw what she was wearing - he'd bought the robe to remind her that she was still a prisoner of sorts - how the hell was he supposed to know that she'd turn things around on him? Behind him Otto and the two others who were there literally had their jaws hanging on the floor. Besides the men there was now a piano where there hadn't been one before. Walking to it Ana tinkled a few notes before White took one of her hands and told her she might wake the neighbors. Noticing the looks his colleague's were giving both him and Ana White decided that maybe this had been a bad idea after all. "In fact, Otto and the others were just leaving - they probably need some sleep too." 

Smiling White very graciously pushed his 'guests' out of his apartment before wheeling back on Ana with anger seeping out of his every feature. "Do you have a death wish? You're lucky that those men didn't see you while you were in lock up." He ran his hands through his hair and Ana laughed at him, walking forward and dropping herself limply against him.

"What - afraid of rumors flying around the workplace? Or just afraid that they'll call you a cradle robber." White stared daggers at her but Ana once again just laughed him off. She knew that they couldn't be more then two years apart in age - it just happened to _look_ more like twenty. Very suddenly he noticed just how little the robe did to cover her and Ana could feel him gulp. She only laughed into his shoulder again and whispered into his ear. "Serves you right." She pushed away from him then and walked towards her room - her purpose had been served, and she knew that pushing him too far would be dangerous. Leaving him with something to think about, she changed back into her nightgown and dropped right back into sleep.

**

Ok, so now that we've gotten this far I'd like to ask ya'll something - Do you think I should step this up to an R rating? There are things I'm contemplating writing but I'm not sure if I should. Feel free to discuss this on one of the DA message boards with me if you don't mind. Also, this hasn't been proof read so I hope ya don't mind.


	6. Dreams

Ok, just a quick question: Am I under-doing the M/L angle? I ask because while I wouldn't mind writing in long poignant moments, I find that they tend to hinder the story line. Also I have a drawing I did of **Ana and Ames in my sketchbook** if anyone wants to see it. Ames came out a bit strange b/c I tried to unage him a bit but Ana's fairly close to how I intended her to be. Tell what if you want to see it (when you review of course!) and I'll post the link with the next chapter.

BTW - I wanted to name the type of snake but I'm not a reptilian expert so I wasn't sure what type it was.

Chap 6

Dreams 

It felt so cozy and warm that Max wasn't sure if it was really her feeling like this, but she didn't care because it was a safe comfortable warm. It was the type of warmth she had coveted but never gotten as a child, warmth that the cold grayness of Manticore had always denied her. The kind of warmth radiated by love.

In its grasp she felt completely relaxed, and in Logan's arms she felt so very safe. Max smiled dreamily and buried her self deeper into his arms, glad that he was there for her. "I love you." His voice was soft, so soft she wouldn't have heard it if his lips weren't pressed close to her ear, his head rested on top of hers. Max's smile only widened when she heard his whispered words and she wished that this moment could last for eternity.

"Max." Logan's whisper came from a different direction this time, and she was suddenly very confused. "Max!" The darkness of night changed to bright sunlight in the blink of an eye and Max knew all too well that she had been dreaming. Groaning she pulled herself up off of Logan's couch and shook the drowsiness out of her head.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Logan watched Max as she fought away the remainder of sleepiness that clung on to her and felt a stab of pain shoot through him. She had looked so peaceful as she slept that he'd spent a good part of the night just watching her, wishing that she could have that kind of serenity in her everyday life. In her waking hours she was every bit the tough soldier that Manticore had trained her to be. "Sorry I fell asleep." 

"It's alright. Alec will be here in a few minutes to pick up the information I found for him, if you want to stay we can put this plan of his into motion then." Max nodded and tried to look nonchalant at Logan's businesslike demeanor, she had wanted to distance him but it still felt as if a knife were turning in her gut. _This was your choice Max, you're the one who said that keeping Logan at arms length was better then having him dead. _She tried to convince herself that the arguments she'd originally made were right, unfortunately the voice in her heart disagreed. 

***

White sat on his bed still fully dressed in his office clothes from the day before, a troubled look marring his features. He had expected Anastasia's subtle defiance of him from the moment he'd first 'saved' her from lock up. But the teasing friendliness that she seemed intent on displaying was something that was not only unexpected but painful to him as well. Whether her actions were all artful mind games or if she was truly acting in ignorance of what he had done he couldn't tell. And that inability to tell was killing him. 

He had spent the entire night trying to rationalize her actions and while his mind wandered everywhere from her having been planted as a spy, to him having guessed wrongly about her capacity as a clone. Unfortunately none of these explanations served to clarify her chosen course and the most realistic answer was still what he had first thought to be true. Frustrated Ames turned his thoughts from figuring her out to paying her back for that little stunt she'd pulled when he'd had the guys help move the piano from his old place. He wasn't normally vindictive but he'd had that piano moved purely for her benefit and that she'd decided to use the gesture to embarrass him was an insult that could not be borne. After a few moments of floundering he came up with the perfect payback, rising with a grace breed from years of training White slowly made preparations in the dark. If the lights had been on, he might have caught himself grinning sadistically in the mirror across the room.

***

__

The sobbing that threatened her was muffled only by will power, As Anastasia gazed out the glass window panes of the school library she was glad both for the rain outside and the lack of people under the high arched roof. As she sat there, her tears began falling on their own accord and by the time she tried to hide them, someone had already seen.   
"You're crying." Glancing up to find the owner of the gentle voice Anastasia was surprised that Ames had managed to sneak up on her so suddenly.

"You're imagining it." She tried to smile it all away, but his hand moved too quickly for her to dodge and before she could react he had managed to wipe away some of tears with this thumb.

"They seem fairly real to me." Letting go of her face he sat down besides her and gave her time to dry her eyes and mutter a very smothered 'damn you'. When she had collected herself somewhat he looked at her expectantly, not exactly probing, but asking for answers none the less. A moment or two later she relented.

"I went with a few of the others to see the children that we to be yielded at tonight's ceremony…we found the cradles where they were being kept." She began staring out the window again, and Ames waited patiently for her to finish, she knew that the sacrifices were to be children, they all did - but that was no reason to cry. For these children, early death would be kinder then long life. "Most of them were sleeping, so I didn't pay them much heed… but one woke up, and he started crying… so I picked him up." The tears started falling again, only this time they were more insistent. "He was perfect Ames… except he was blind. If only he hadn't been blind…" She was choked by sobs now, and knowing no other way to respond Ames slid to the floor by her chair and pulled her towards him, letting her cry silently into his shoulder until she pulled away. "I'm afraid I won't be able to do this Ames… I'd expected these children to be grotesque or something…but he was just a baby…" She let the sentence drift off and he knew that she was talking about more then just tonight's ceremony and other women's children. But like her, he was afraid to think about that uncertain future, and instead turned his thoughts to cheering her.

"You will Ana, you always do." Smiling a bit, he fished a tissue out of one pocket and offered it to her before returning to his pocket and fishing something else out. "This will help you." The thing he took out caught the light, and Ana soon saw that it was a silver locket dangling from a silver chain. "I know that wearing jewelry in school is discouraged and that jewelry during the ceremonies is forbidden, but you're smart enough so that they won't find out." Ana could see he was trying to make her feel better and gave him a halfhearted smile, but even as he helped her put the necklace on, he could tell that sorrow still lingered in her eyes.

~

A light eerie chanting filled the air around fifteen babies who lay on edge of white chalk circle. The sound bounced off of cold granite walls, returning to the ears of the fifteen maidens who uttered them as they kneeled upon the floor in white ceremonial robes. The chanting continued, picking up momentum though not volume. Through a grate in the ceiling they all watched the moon as it traveled across the sky, waiting for the moment when its light struck the center of their circle exactly. When it did not a single voice wavered, but each one lowered their arms to the floor. Ever so slowly fifteen snakes crawled down their bodies and onto the floor.

One by one they drew their arms back, continuing to chant all had their eyes fixed on the snake they previously held. All save one, and that one watched not the snake but a blind baby boy. The snakes reached their destination and slowly wound their way onto the children in the circle. They were the largest snakes the conclave had, and as Ana watched they devoured the Familiars unwanted children, many of who were smaller then most children of a month old should be. As the snake reached the boy she'd been watching she was forced to turn her eyes away, and when an unearthly wailing filled the air she could only fight back the tears that threatened her. 

She felt the snakes against the skin of her own neck then and she felt suddenly sick to her stomach. The snake moved down her body ever so slowly and every movement it made sickened her. 

Ana came out of the dream suddenly and violently when she realized that the movement she felt against her nightgown wasn't purely a manifestation of her imagination. Gasping in shock she immediately grabbed the snake so as to stop it from proceeding down her torso. "Morning." Revolted by the snake's presence she didn't notice her other visitor until he greeted her. The sight of Ames White grinning smugly as he leaned casually against one of her bedposts managed to anger and embarrass Ana at the same time. "Hope you slept well." Turning crimson Ana wondered just how long he'd stood there. Unfortunately her pride did not allow her to ask and so she only hissed through her teeth and threw his little pet at him when she walked by on her way to the bathroom. A few minutes later she reemerged still wearing her nightgown - only this time it was semitransparent thanks to the water that still clung to her from her shower.

From where he stood Ames didn't bother to suppress his smirk or glance away - having removed all but one very small towel from the bathroom earlier. She glared at him, but this time it was his turn to laugh - his gaze never wavering from where it was fixed on her body. "Opps." 

***

Nearly half an hour later, Ames was dressed for work and in a much better mood. He had made breakfast and set it on the table. Not sure if Ana would join him he began eating on his own, going over some paperwork as he did so. When she came into the kitchen at last he was nearly done and did not bother to look up from his work when she opened the refrigerator - which was a mistake. A fraction of a second later he felt her standing behind him and a second after that something very, very, cold had been dropped down the back of his shirt. It wasn't so much the ice cube down his shirt that made him jump as it was his surprise at her playing such a childlike joke. The motion still succeeded upset his chair and as he tried to simultaneously catch his chair before it reached the floor and get the ice out of his shirt, he looked duly ridicules and Ana couldn't help laughing at the sight. When he had at last succeeded in both tasks he turned to face her. Ana had expected him to glare at her and perhaps yell a bit - which was why she didn't duck when he threw what was left of his breakfast at her.

Yelping when it hit her Ana skidded back a little before glancing up at him and then grabbing something off of her own plate and throwing it back at him. When White retaliated their little game turned into a fully-fledged food fight and as the they began laughing neither stopped to think that for two thirty-something selectively reproduced adults they both behaved an awfully lot like normal misguided teenagers.

***

"You sure this is the place?" Alec looked slightly incredulously at the building to which Logan had traced White's phone call. "I mean this building is in one of the most active area's of Seattle - shouldn't an operation as covert as White's be somewhere... secluded?" Max shrugged and gave Alec a look through her sunglasses.

"Who knows - Maybe they took the expression 'hidden in plain sight' to heart." Pausing the conversation a moment Max glanced around the parking lot to see if they had been spotted, and while she didn't see anyone targeting them she did find her target. "White's here. His car just pulled in over there." Nodding in the direction of a black Lexus, she waited for Alec to give the go ahead. This was his mission so when and where was his decision.

"Let's do this." Revving up his bike he waited until White was almost out of is car before closing in the short distance and veering sharply so that White was pressed back against his vehicle. Getting off the bike, she shoved White back into his car and got into the back seat. At the same time Max had done the same thing on the other side of White's car and sat waiting in the passenger's seat with a gun pointed at his head. 

"452." White bit out the number with his customary warmness, only mildly surprised that she had been stupid enough to come here. 

"Shut up." Max was tempted to fire the gun just to see what the inside of his brains looked like, unfortunately she was here for a reason.

"We know you have Anastasia, we'd like her back." Alec cut straight to the point of this conversation not wanting this meeting to take any longer then it had to. "So we're proposing a little trade, we know you want your son and we'll give him back to you as soon as you decide to hand Anastasia over to us." White would've opened his mouth to protest but no sarcastic comment came to mind - only surprise - why did Ana matter to 452? 

"We'll give you 72 hours to decide. When it's time we'll call on this. Better start thinking." Throwing a phone in his general direction Max backed out of the car and got back onto her bike, still pointing the gun as Alec made a similar retreat. The two exited in different directions in case White decided to try and take them down as they left. He didn't, and as Max rode hard for the next sector she grimly hoped that the next phase of this plan would prove likewise easy. _You're show now Logan, let's just hope that this isn't your funeral._

***


	7. Resting

AN: Well, this is a rather short chapter but it's been a rather bad week for me. In any case the first cover sketch is at http://photos.yahoo.com/sweetheart8875, it's in the folder labeled My Sketches. Like I said before, White came out looking really weird so be warned. Right now I'm working on one with Max and Logan - but I'm too disheartened by the cancellation to finish it so don't expect it anytime soon. 

Chap 7 

Resting

"He's been in the building all day." Logan sat in front of his computer, watching the tracer they'd attached to the cell phone Max had handed White. "It doesn't look like he's figured us out yet." Behind him, Max stood keeping watch at the windows while Alec stood near the door. This was Alec's brilliant plan. The problem with it was that the tracer they'd used worked both ways, and if White had stopped to look, he would've been able to trace Logan rather then letting things work the other way around.

"He'd better not." Max spoke protectively, and glared in Alec's direction as she did so. Not happy that the cost of his lightened mood was Logan's safety.

"Ouch." Alec put his hands over his heart and raised his eyebrows. "Remind me to never listen to you again. Or weren't you the one who said to just tell you if I ever had a problem?" Max glared at him once again, but before she could retort, Logan cut in.

"Hey, I think he's moving." The little blip on Logan's screen was indeed in motion. Abandoning his post Alec came over to where they stood and watched the screen with some excitement. At that moment, the lights flickered, and the city plunged into darkness.

"Aw shit."

***

The brownout had plunged the entire apartment into darkness and in every room save for the study there was at least one candle lit. Anastasia came into the dark study bring a candle with her, she had thought that Ames was in this room but the darkness seemed to indicate that she had been wrong. She knew that something was bothering him, the way he'd been acting all evening made that much obvious, but unfortunately she could not think of a tactful way of asking him. As she reached for a matchbook she suddenly found her arms restrained tightly against her body. "Don't." Ana silently cursed at herself for being careless enough not to notice that she wasn't alone as she did her best to keep herself from tensing up and springing out of White's grasp. He didn't move, only held on to her tightly, and after a few seconds Anastasia identified the smell of liquor on his breath. 

"What's wrong?" She dropped her head against his shoulder and looked up at him with wide questioning eyes, willing him to answer her. 

"Everything." He stepped away then and Ana was finally able to turn around and see his haggard disheveled appearance. Slowly he dropped himself onto the floor leaning his back against the desk. Silently he handed Anastasia the glass he'd been drinking out of as she sat down beside him. She saw the glass was almost empty, so she drained it before setting it down. She could tell he wasn't drunk, especially since familiars didn't get drunk period. Liquor served to make them drowsy, but it didn't intoxicate them like it did normal people. "Tell me where you've been Ana, where you went after you deflected." 

His sudden changing of the topic surprised her and while instinct told her to lie, intuition told Ana to open up. "Manticore mostly, I was the one who had to charm all those damned politicians into letting us stay open, and the one who had to make sure the Government never found out our real purpose." Ana stopped talking for a moment, suddenly unsure of how much to say or not say. "I was the one none of the others quite understood or knew about… the other deflectors mostly hid in the shadows, but I was the one thrust into the light."

"Then why did I never find you?" Ames looked at her intently, and though she never looked up, she could feel his gaze.

"Maybe because you never looked." She was confused, as uncertain of what he was asking as she was of what she was saying but somehow her answer had made sense to him.

"I tried to… I wanted to… but after you deflected…" He stopped and she could feel him restraining himself. Even in the dark she could see his knuckles turning white as he tightened his fists. "There's too much you don't know… too much you never stayed around to find out. I used to think about the things you said and I'd replay the left over and over again… wondering if I'd made the right choice. Until I made my first kill… it sounds terrible, but the power… you feel like God. So I began listening to the Conclave more and more… and after awhile, I began believing." Ames stopped speaking and Ana leaned her head against his arm.

"I'm sorry." The brief words should've been insignificant but they seemed to fill up the room, and they were enough. After a few moments, Ana's breathing evened and White realized that she'd fallen asleep, likely because of the rum she'd drank. Sadly he looked down at one of the two women standing between him and his son. Only this one he couldn't hate as he wished he did. 

After a few minutes more of quiet contemplation, it occurred to Ames that he should probably carry Anastasia to her room but the alcohol had begun to get to him as well, seeping his strength. Felling drained, he did little more then move away from the desk and drag her close. Holding her as tightly as if she were a lifeline as he too feel into the oblivion of sleep.

__

"Damn it Ana why won't you listen to me!" The high stone walls around them warped Ames angry shouting, twisting them and magnifying their desperation.

"Because you're wrong!" Ana stood only a few feet away from him, and the tears in her eyes glistened visibly. "The old ways can't be right Ames, infanticide can't be the only way. Watching those children die can't possibly be the only way." She felt as if she were about to break down into tears, but pride kept her from doing so. "I refuse to believe that it's the only way." 

"Don't be crazy Ana… thinking like that is sacrilege, and you know that." He reached out for Ana's arms, hoping to calm her into thinking straight, but for some reason she would not listen and he was glad that no one could hear them in the abandoned attic.

"No, I **don't** know that. I don't know anything Ames. I can't be sure of anything. But I do know that Sandeman's words… his ideas. They make sense to me." She glared at him, defiance clearly written in her eyes, and at last he backed away.

"Fine." He was angry, and she could see it. "Do whatever you want - but I'm telling you Ana, he's been labeled a heretic. They're watching him, and if you keep on like this, they'll start watching you to." He walked away from her then, and as his form faded Ana felt suddenly cold. As if she had just been betrayed by the one person she had expected to entrust with her life.

The sun streaming through the windows awoke Ana, banishing whatever she had been dreaming away from her mind. She was disoriented and cold, so she gently snuggled deeper into the arms around her. After a few puzzled moments she suddenly remembered where she was and how she'd ended up there. She expected herself to want to pull away, but oddly she felt safe… as if it weren't an enemies arms around her. Quietly she watched the sun rise higher into the sky, waiting for Ames to wake up, wishing she could remember just who he was… just who she was. Beside her she felt him stirring and turned her head to greet him. "Morning." 

His expression showed that he was as disoriented as she had been, but it wasn't so much surprise in his eyes as uncertainty. He didn't return her greeting, but only looked at her intently, as if unsure of something. He seemed to be quietly questioning her. _We've broken all the rules Ana._ He didn't say the words, but in her mind, she heard them whispered across memory. She couldn't remember where and when he'd said that, but what she did remember was her reply _I don't care anymore. Not so long as you're here._ He remembered then to, and she could tell that he was thinking the same thoughts. Only his memory was clear, unlike her he knew. And the knowledge stabbed at him. Could he choose between his son and his angel? Could he possibly betray her once again?

BTW - Whoever made the comment about the food fights - I've can't answer your question about the 'American' thing, but I for one had hoped that little scene would lighten the mood of the last chapter slightly, especially considering what Ana had been dreaming about.


	8. Coincidences

Chap 8

Max followed the black Lexus through the meandering evening traffic, surprised that White had not yet spotted her. The brownout yesterday had set Alec's plan behind by over 12 hours and now Max feared that they might actually have to produce Ray to get in touch with Anastasia. When the electricity had resumed this morning, the signal had not at first appeared, at about seven A.M. however the tracer began functioning again while White was in en-route to work. Max's first concern had been for Logan's safety - what if during the brownout White had found the tracer? What if the time the lights had been out they had traced it back to Logan? However Logan and Alec had both said that such a feat was not possible since their end of the tracer had been off. However, if they suffered anymore set backs they would loose this insane game that Alec had seen fit to play.

With a renewed vigor they had decided that they would place a tail on White - and now hours later Max found herself unable to believe that he had not yet spotted her. As far as she knew his senses were every bit as heightened as her own, which meant that he should also be every bit as aware of being watched as she usually was. Genetically, she was not yet ready to believe that she was the superior of the two - so what then did he seek to gain through letting her follow him? Was she being led towards a trap? Suddenly Max's stomach began to clench and she prayed that the tracer was still up. 

***

A few feet ahead of her, Ames was perfectly aware that he was being tailed, he was also perfectly aware that it was 452 who followed him. He did not bother trying to elude her, that did not serve his purpose. What served his purpose was the letting her see Ana for herself. What he wanted to do was to throw a wrench in the transgenic's carefully laid out plans.

After nearly a day of wracking his brains White had finally figured out why they were so desperate to get their hands on Ana. Ironically that bit of insight had been gleaned off of the very solider who he had at first harassed for capturing Ana by mistake. He remembered that Anastasia had gotten herself captured protecting an X5. If Ana had seen fit to defend the X5 then she was obviously either one of them or a highly valued ally. He knew that they didn't want her for the same reason's the conclave did - they could not possibly know that she was a familiar or if they did they trusted her. If he let them get Ana, there was a very good chance she would be safe. However he, would not be. His best route of action then would be to let them think Ana had betrayed them. 

He let 452 follow him to serve that very purpose. Ana stayed with him for the time being because she had no other choice, but to an outsider it would not appear so simple. He knew that while his chosen route might ensure his and Ana's safety - it would not do the same for his son. Ray's reclamation remained to be seen to, but if he knew 452 he knew that for the time being she would not kill him.

Her pity might have disgusted him at one time, he might've even seen it as a weakness. But for once in his life he was grateful, not because it was an enemy's weakness but because it meant the life of one he loved.

***

Ana was seated upon the floor of White's living room drawing on the sketchpad he had given her that morning. Though the lights were on it was not the room or the lines the pencil left she saw, but a rain-covered landscape through the glass panes of a window. The image branded itself into her mind, it had since early that morning, but the memory it went with refused to yield itself to her.

Distantly she heard a key turn in the lock and remembered suddenly that she had forgotten to make dinner. But even so she didn't look up and didn't stop drawing, too focused on her task to notice much of anything until Ames' chin was rested comfortably above her head, his arms gently around her shoulders. "What are you drawing?"

Though surprised by his sudden warmth, she didn't start at his touch or his voice. "I don't remember - do you?" She showed him the drawing, pulling her head away from his slightly, settling back into him comfortably; watching his face for any expression at all. She saw confusion written there, though it soon faded into nonchalance. 

"No." He was lying, she could tell, but for once she let sleeping dogs lay and didn't complain when he pulled her sketchbook away and shut it. Sighing deeply, Ana pulled away from him and walked to the large windows, not caring who did or didn't see her.

"Ames, I can't do this anymore." Ana watched the brief look of Panic that her words elicited as it reflected off of the glass, enjoying the power she possessed over him. Just now, she had to play every card right. "I'm going to go stir crazy if I have to stay here much longer." She gauged his reaction to her words - and unlike what she'd expected the look he gave her was not one of loathing or anger, but one of despair. Rounding on him, Ana draped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't look at me like that… I didn't mean I'm going to run away. I just need to get out of here for one night - or even just a few hours. I just need to get some air." 

"Oh." His relief was visible, and he silently berated himself for letting his emotions be so apparent. "Look Ana - I really don't think that's such a good idea, you know very well that people are after you, the conclave, my men, possibly even whoever's left of Manticore. If anyone recognizes you -."

"You're friends didn't recognize me." Ana's logic was meant to give him pause. 

"They weren't familiars." Unfortunately he shot it down immediately. Pretending not to care she quickly dredged up another reason to get out of the apartment.

"Then I - then we'll go somewhere familiars don't frequent." Ames couldn't think of an immediate rebuttal and in truth he himself was beginning to think that it had been a long time since he'd spent time at any place other then home and work. "Please?" He heard the soft voice and even without looking he could see her pleading look and wide liquid brown eyes. Letting her get out didn't seem like such a _very_ bad idea especially since he now remembered Otto saying something once about some place called Crash in sector nine… 

"Oh Alright. I think there's some place called Crash in Sector nine where you might not be noticed." He didn't like giving in this easily but unfortunately Ana knew him far too well. "But even so you're going to have to disguise your appearance a bit." She gave him a brilliant smile, and suddenly letting her win this one wasn't at bad at he'd first thought.

"Great! Give me an hour and I swear you'll barely recognize me." She was across the room almost faster then he could blink, and when she turned around he found out why. "Oh, and don't wear that - cuz I _really_ hope you something other than suits in your wardrobe." Her tinkling laughter remained for a second, and while he wanted to be angry with her, he found that he couldn't. Especially since she'd helped put on such a good show for 452.

***

"And then she put her arms around him I don't think she kissed him but even so… Logan, I'm beginning to think that we've got this all wrong." Max paced back and forth in front of Logan's wheelchair as she recounted what she'd seen. Too tense and worried to stand still or sit down. 

"I agree." Logan tilted his head back, looking up at Max in that calm and patient way of his, Forcing Max to stop and listen. "Max, I've been thinking about that letter you found. If Renfro was keeping an eye on her for Sandeman then she may not have been one of Sandeman's alley's after all. What doesn't make sense is that if she's a familiar - why doesn't she hate transgenics like all the others?" 

Max opened her mouth to answer, but instead she only shut it and shrugged before dropping back onto the couch. "I don't know Logan… but I'm worried about Alec. He's taken this too much to heart… he sees it all as a debt of honor." She sighed, looking more defeated then Logan wanted to admit. "He's thrown himself into this heart and soul. You saw him when the tracer went out… I'm not sure we should tell him about this." Logan watched Max intently, wandering if her concern for Alec was as plutonic as she seemed intent on making it sound. Feeling a pang in his heart at the thought, trying to banish it but finding that he couldn't.

"Yeah, sure." Max sensed the change in his tone and looked up at him, catching the last of a wistful look drift through his eyes. She wanted to comment on it, but found that she couldn't find the words. _We're drifting apart._ The realization came upon her suddenly, like an anvil falling out of the sky. It fell hard, shattering some of the hope that she had held out, making her think that even if Ana did manage to help them find a cure there wouldn't be much left to save. What she missed was that the anvil didn't shatter any of her love for Logan.

"Max, I - " Logan's words were interrupted by the opening of his front door and Alec's sudden appearance. Mentally Max berated Alec for his bad timing and while she wanted to know what Logan was about to say she turned her mind to what to tell Alec instead.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Alec saw immediately that he had interrupted something, but he also realized that it was too late to bite his tongue and walk back out. He saw the quick glance that Max and Logan exchanged and chalked it up to whatever he had walked in on.

"He ugh - noticed I was following him and ditched me. Sorry." Max's answer came a little too quickly for comfort but Alec accepted it, thinking that she was embarrassed at having been spotted.

"And the tracer?" It was Logan's turn to think up an inventive lie, and as a journalist he'd had plenty of practice. 

"He left it at work." It was a simple enough answer, but it was a good thing that Alec didn't bother glancing Logan's computer to screen to check it's validity. "But don't worry, we still have two days. I know we're tight on time but if we play this right we'll be fine." Alec barely suppressed a curse, and Max saw his building temper. Deciding that a different topic might be in order she made the only suggestion she could think of.

"Hey, since we can't do anything more tonight anyway why don't we head over to Crash?" Logan agreed readily, and Alec only shrugged. As the three of them walked out the door they were all too preoccupied to notice that the little red blip on Logan's computer had began to move again.

***

AN: Sorry, about how long this took to get out, not to mention how short it is. There was supposed to be more to this chapter but I a) didn't have to time to write and b) figured that it was safer to get this out now then to wait until I'd written everything and everyone had stopped reading. I hope no one minds. (And if so - too bad j/k)

Tab's - I think you were asking about Columbia? Well, I actually didn't hear from them yet (that can't be a good sign huh?) but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

Thank's to everyone for reviewing and I hope you keep reading!


	9. Dances

Chap 9

A graceful woman walked smoothly through the doors of Crash wearing a small black dress with a black duster. In fact her hair, boots, and sunglasses were also black; all in sharp contrast to her too white skin and wine red lips. She was beautiful, but one only noticed if they looked closely, and amongst the many more-accessible women in the club, none were inclined to look. Behind her, a man of about the same height and also dressed all in black came in. In his case the sunglasses dark cloths seemed more fitting, as if he were accustomed to darkness and shadows. The two moved to a table in one of the darkest corners of the room and neither noticed when two transgenics and Eyes Only himself walked in the door.

At their table White and Ana were both struggling to keep a straight face as they listened to the off-key drunk that was currently doing his version of 'singing'. Tonight, was Crash's annual Open Mic night and the place was far more packed then usual, which in this case, was a good thing. Ana had deliberately worn her hair back in a French twist and manipulated her makeup so that she appeared much closer to her actual age, and while Ames (and a few other men) was busy looking at her, she was busy glancing around the dance floor. After a few moments, a tall, very well built man of about thirty years of age caught her eye. Even through the sunglasses he seemed to notice her gaze and turned to look at her. He studied her closely for a few moments, almost too closely, then turned away. "Hey Ames, I want to dance."

When he heard her Ames looked at Ana as if she'd grown another nose. "Uh… I don't dance." 

"So you brought me here just so I can sit at this table all evening." Ana spoke in a teasing tone, but she'd known from the start that Ames didn't dance - or rather wouldn't, which is why she wasn't surprised at his sarcastic answer.

"No, I figured you might enjoy listening to the music - " Ames was about to finish his sentence, but a louder voice interrupted. 

"Excuse me miss, but I was wondering if perhaps you wanted to dance?" It was the same man who had caught Ana's eye a few moments earlier. Though he was imminently polite to Ana, he pointedly ignore White's very presence at the table, especially when he was given a withering glance that could be felt even through his dark tinted shades. In turn Ana gave White a look that seemed to say '_you lost your chance' _and offered her hand to the speaker.

The two walked away from the table and once on the dance floor moved away from Ames' general direction, once they were out of hearing distance, Ana grinned cheekily. "For a moment there, I thought he'd made us Dave."

"Yeah well, it's amazing what twenty years and a little hair dye can do huh?" Ana laughed, and while Ames couldn't see what was going on from where he sat, he did see, and suddenly he was very curious to know just what this man had said that was so funny or if he'd been manipulated in more ways then he cared to acknowledge.

"Maybe, but I'd say that it has something to do with the fact that you're not a scrawny stick figure with his nose stuck in book anymore." Dave grinned back at Ana then, thinking that she was able to banter then things obviously couldn't be all that bad. "We worried about you Ana, and when you and Jon didn't show up - "

"Jon was shot… you're sure he didn't make it back?" Ana's eyes suddenly lilted with worry, afraid that her worst fear had just been confirmed.

"He didn't make it back to us Ana, that doesn't mean he isn't alive. He may've gone to one of the other X-series." It was a slim hope, but it was all she had. Jon had been both her bodyguard and her friend; in fact he was almost family. Not knowing what had become of him was painful, but for now there were other matters to handle.

"Kiera?" 

"She's with Crissy." That much was at least a comfort. "What's the deal with Ames? We thought one of the government agencies had gotten you."

"They did. Apparently the conclave controls more of this government then we thought. Ames is running the agency in change of capturing the escaped transgenics, which actually worked out for us since he got me out of there the day they captured me." Dave wasn't surprised, Ana and Ames had known each other since they were children - what surprised him was that Ana wasn't under lock and key, he would've broached the subject but she kept on speaking. "I wasn't able to pinpoint the location of where they're keeping the captives since he tranqed me but I do know that Ames has a penthouse apartment in sector two. He also keeps one of those snakes in his apartment and a scrapbook with pictures of deflectors in it. I'm pretty sure there's more but he keeps his bedroom locked." Ana left out the fact that the scrapbook focused mostly on her and that it had deflectors in it because most of her friends had deflected with her.

"That information could be useful, now that we know they're trying to not only capture the escapees but find us as well we'll have to act a little more discreetly. When do you want us to extract you?" Dave saw extracting Ana as the next most logical step; in fact he saw the current time as the most probably opportunity.

"Not until I give the signal." Dave raised an eyebrow at that - waiting for a signal meant she intended to stay on this for at least another day. "Look, Ames said that if I stayed he wouldn't tell the conclave I was in Seattle, so far he's managed to make good on his word. That means that we have more time. I need to build up his trust, getting him out here tonight means that I'm succeeding." Dave shook his head and attempted to interrupt Ana however, she didn't let him. "We need a substantial inside source. Right now, I'm in the best position to provide that."

"Yeah - if it were any other target, I'd believe that Ana, but with him? I don't trust your judgement on this one… not with him involved." Ana turned a puzzled glance on Dave - why would he doubt her judgement?

"I know were friends Dave… heck, you were his roommate, but that was twenty years ago, and he's a familiar now. If I had to kill him I might see why you'd be concerned… but all I'm doing is gathering information and then getting my ass the hell out of there." Dave looked confused then - they were _friends?_ Very suddenly, it dawned on him that Ana probably didn't remember Ames very well. Unfortunately that didn't mean it worked the other way around as well. 

"Don't you wonder why he didn't turn you over to the conclave?" Dave talked softly and Ana was again, confused. In truth, the question had crossed her mind, but she assumed that it'd been because they were friends. That friendship mattered to him, what was Dave trying to say? Suddenly a thought struck her head, and she immediately turned red when she related it to the behavior she'd displayed over the last few days. 

"Are we related?" When he heard that, Dave wanted to hit her and ask if she was being dumb on purpose. After a second of contemplation however he realized that Ana probably had no real clue and that to her at least, being family was probably the most logical explanation.

"No." Ana breathed a sigh of relief - glad that she hadn't been using her sexuality to keep a half brother or a cousin in check. The question that remained however was just who were they? "You were lovers." The air suddenly left Ana's lungs and her heart seem to stop. _We've broken all the rules. _Suddenly the words from that morning came back to her mind, and unfortunately they made all too much sense.

***

Asha and some of her SD-6 friends had spotted Logan the moment he came in, in fact they had grabbed him so quickly that Max hadn't even had time to blink before he had disappeared into their midst. Now, sitting besides an equally depressed Alec she wondered why she had even bothered to come here. "You're still in love with him aren't you?" Knowing that her emotions were being worn so openly didn't make Max feel any better about herself and the need to hit something hard had not abetted since Logan had decided to ditch her for Asha and her friends.

"Fuck off." Alec put his mug raised his hands in a defensive gesture, surprised that he'd managed to annoy her. 

"Hey, just trying to provide a little insight." He was genuinely trying to be nice and offer Max an outlet; unfortunately, he didn't fit the bill of anyone she wanted to open up to. Slamming her mug down on the table, Max almost broke it as she yelled at him.

  
"Well Dr. Ruth, I don't know. You're the one they fucking stuck in Phys-ops aren't you? And for your information Logan can hang with whoever the hell he wants." Max's explosion of temper didn't go over too well with Alec, who instead of keeping his usual calm bit back with malice of his own.

"Whatever. At least screwing Asha won't kill him." At that point Max tried to backhand Alec - who caught her arm almost as fast as she made the move. They might've fought things out - cooled down that way, unfortunately Manticore training was deeply embedded in both of them. When you're on a mission, you never fight one of your own.

"Why don't you go find some dumb ass Barbie to go play with." Max pulled her arm out of Alec's and turned back to nursing her drink, ignoring him complete. 

"Fine." Seeing that any further conversation wasn't going to happen Alec chose to do just that. On the dance floor he noted a pretty girl dressed all in black, he also noticed that she was heading back to a table where a man stood waiting. He dismissed her for a second, however a moment later his mind made a connection and when he looked again he still didn't recognize her, the man at the table though was most definitely Ames White. "Shit." Abandoning his earlier plan he quickly moved into the group of SD-6ers and made an attempt at grabbing Logan's attention.

***

When Ana walked back to their table, Ames noted that she seemed almost dazed and immediately commented on it.

"He wasn't much of a dancer." As she spoke the mood he'd previously seen around her evaporated. Her teasing tone softened by a mocking smile. As she sat down closer to him then she had been before the words 'it didn't look like that mattered' died on his lips. She could tell he was confused, she was too, Ana didn't like manipulating him like this any better then she did not quite knowing just where they stood. Years of training and fieldwork however had taught her to press her every advantage. "I guess you'll just have to make that up to me." Ana leaned in to him conspireustually (sp?), and Ames automatically raised an eyebrow and backed away. When she saw this, Ana immediately drew back and hissed into her glass. "God this was pointless." She drained her drink, then rose to leave. "I'm sorry I put you to the trouble of attempting to have a good time. I'm sorry I put myself to the trouble of trying to lighten your mood."

"As if she'd drawn a dagger to her own throat, Ames grasped her arm and stopped her from moving. "Ana I'm sorry." By this point they were standing face to face, almost too close for comfort. "I'll make it up to you." A smile touched her lips then, but it wasn't a pleased smile, it was the smile a predator smiled when the trap had closed around its pray. Ames saw it and for a second he felt as if trapped in a black widows web.

"Then sing for me?" She had released him lightly, shown him that she possessed the ability to manipulate and take what she wanted but hadn't. He was suddenly sick, nauseated by all the lies and mind games they were forced to play. He stepped away from her so quickly that Ana hadn't expected it. When he neared the stage Ana suddenly realized that in her own confusion she had perhaps pushed too far. When the music started and his voice came to her over the crowd she knew that the line she'd crossed could not be stepped back over.

__

I can't stand to fly,

I'm not that naïve.

I'm just out to find

The better part of me

Ames White allowed his voice to build in volume as he sang, in Ana's mind it also built in accusations and double meanings she could neither comprehend nor remember. The situation was familiar in her memory the underlying emotions and confusing unsaid words all felt as if they'd been thrown around before. In her mind however, it wasn't him on stage but her, the memory was unclear and foggy at best but she remembered standing on a stage staring across the room straight at him. The room grew suddenly too blurry to her, the volume much too loud, but she heard his voice through it all and like an anchor it drew her back in.

__

I'm more than a bird

I'm more than a plane

More then some pretty face beside a train

It's not easy to be me.

Max had never heard this song before, but the music felt soothing to her and the voice was certainly pleasant enough. Definitely one of the better singers of the evening. In fact, she liked the music so much she turned around to see just who it was that sang. When she saw that the man in front of the microphone was Ames White however, not choking on her drink - which all things considered would have made a rather ungraceful death - became her main priority. With a morbid sort of fascination, Max looked again at White. In his black turtleneck and leather jacket he really didn't cut a bad figure. Then she realized that if he saw her, she was dead.

Ducking behind a tall young couple, Max shrunk back into the shadows, fairly certain that they would hide her from his line of sight. When she checked to see if he was scanning the room however, what she realized was that his eyes were trained on one spot. Suddenly afraid he had spotted Logan or Alec, Max followed his line of vision to a woman with sunglasses and hair pinned up in a French twist sitting alone at a table. Focusing her vision in more, Max realized that beneath the makeup this was a very young woman, not to mention a very pretty one. Suddenly grinning she decided to stay and watch White's attempt to woo the pretty girl. She'd seen him in the part of killer, psychopath, and killer. Now she'd like to see just how well he could play the suitor. Not once did it cross her mind that 'the pretty girl' was Anastasia; it may have been the alcohol, or it may have been just plain carelessness, but not for a moment did she stop to think what might happen if Alec or Logan spotted him.

__

Wish that I could cry

Fall upon my knees

Find a way to lie

About a home I'll never see.

Ames never had cried, not when Ana deflected, not when Ray'd been taken. Like many of his more 'human' traits it had been breed out of him, the ability to give in to moments of grief and pain had been trained out of him. Or so it had been at first, but training became habit, and habit became the only thing which kept him feeling the loathing he so completely directed at what he had become. 

He had chosen this song for a reason, he didn't usually like prepulse music, but something in it ran true for him, as he hoped that it would for Ana.

The home that he'd _never see_ was the home in which Ana had never deflected, the one in which Sandeman had never offered her his influence or made his ill fated prophecy. The home he'd once promised her.

__

It may sound absurd

But don't be naïve

Even heroes have the right to bleed

I may be disturbed

But won't you concede 

Even Hero's have the right to dream

It's not easy to be me

As she listened to him sing Max not only found it scary how well he described himself, but how easily she identified to the song herself. She herself often seemed 'disturbed' it was a product of the years she'd spent in Manticore. Quite suddenly, and against her will, she began to wonder how much of White's disturbance had to do with the familiars. When that thought entered her mind, it brought with it a deep and abiding empathy, and uncomfortably she realized that she was able to relate to him far too well.

Snapping out of her moment of pity, Max realized that if White caught sight of Alec or ever her things would escalate fare too fast. Quickly she walked towards Asha and her friends, grinding her teeth together and praying for patience.

__

Up, Up and away

Away from me

It's all right

You can all sleep sound tonight

I'm not crazy… or anything…

Her friends and classmates cheered as Ana walked onto the stage of the kareoke bar. From where he sat Ames tried to hide a smile that bordered on jealous, the others had never heard Ana sing before, that was one talent of hers he'd kept himself - like the emperor and the nightingale. Only, he knew how that story ended so instead of locking the cage around her he chose to let her fly free. Although in this case he didn't feel like the people here - normal humans - deserved to hear her sing. This was however a field trip, one in which they were to learn how to interact with normal people in a normal way. What was more normal then singing at a kareoke bar?

"She's got a pretty voice doesn't she Ames?" Surprised, Ames whipped around to see the teacher who'd brought them on this field trip standing behind him.

"Sure does Professor Sandeman." Much to his discomfort Ana's favorite teacher sat down at the table with him, and for a few moments they shared an uncomfortable silence, filled with Ana's voice.

"You care about her don't you Ames?" He opened his mouth to protest, but Sandeman waved his denial away. " Look - that you care about her more then you're supposed to is obvious. Hell - you're more protective of her then Dave is of Crissy. But so long as you don't answer that - I can't say that I know for sure and I won't have to report it to the others. " Ames gave him a gratified look, but Sandeman wasn't finished. " However I suggest you keep something in mind. If anyone finds out about this they won't hurt you - but they'll hang her." 

I can't stand to fly

I'm not that naïve

Men weren't meant to ride

With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet

Digging for Kryptonite on this one way street

"I'd never let them hurt her." How valiant the words sounded coming out of his head - unfortunately in the air they seemed hollow.

"No, but I'm afraid you'll betray her, and I'm warning you Ames if you ever do she'll not only die in every way but her soul will shatter into a million pieces."

Betrayal - at the time he'd thought Sandeman meant that he shouldn't 'play her'. What a fool he was, because it wasn't very long after that when he'd betray Ana in the worst possible way.

__

Only a man in a funny red sheet

Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me.

Where she sat Ana seemed to have begun crying, her shoulders shaking gently with her sobs. As White came off stage he spotted this and went immediately to her side. She buried her head in his shoulder then and along her sobs came the words "I'm sorry." They say that music moved people in strange ways, but White couldn't for the life of him see what had made her cry. "I didn't know… how could I have known…"

"Known what?" Ana didn't finish her sentence but she didn't quite regain her composure either, ever so gently he led her towards the exit and out the door. As they drove home through the streets of Seattle she finished what she began saying her mind. _How could I have known that they'd destroy you? How could the conclave kill a man and still leave the barest part of his soul alive?… How could I have known that you had a soul? A soul that I'm meant to destroy._

AN - Ok, I know that the last chapter was short - and that not much happened - but really when the review begin to match the ratings it usually isn't a good sign (at least not when the ratings are barely averaging four.) Come on people, I know that we're all busy campaigning and studding for finals and whatnot, but think of it this way, if reading put a smile your face reviewing will put one on mine. And if it's really that bad, tell me why so I can work with it. 

J BTW the song is Superman by five for fighting, if you get a chance you should really listen to it. 


	10. Point of No Return

Note: Well… I _am_ sorry this took so long. But first I got stuck debating whether or not to add a certain scene to this chapter (you'll see what I mean) and then Fanfiction.net went down, it came back up for a short duration of time, then went back down before I had a chance to get online and upload. Anyway, please read and review since there's only one chapter left to go after this - and I guarantee that no one (except _maybe_ the Cheshire Kitten) will expect this ending. (Although it may not be a good thing…) Anywho, this chapter is about twice as long as any of previous ones (and the second half isn't proof read) so please read, enjoy, and review! BTW - Special thanks to Cheshire Kitten for letting me bounce ideas off of her. 

Chap 10

****

The Point of No Return

As the end of Ames last day drew near, Max sat calmly in Logan's chair debating which lie she'd thought up was the one Alec would be most likely to believe. In front of her Logan was doing his best to make her dizzy by pacing back and forth across the carpet, something he had been prone to doing since he'd received his exo. "Stop it already!" Max's sudden outburst didn't come as surprise to him, in fact he'd rather been expecting it. 

"Sorry." Logan mumbled hastily and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of is nose. "Look I say we tell him the truth - to an extent." The latter was added when Max gave him a particularly lethal look. "We'll say we saw the two of them together last night… at crash… and because of that, there's a good chance that Ames has the conclave watching his place. Following him might mean stepping into a trap." Max didn't answer but looked over his shoulder. When Logan turned to see what she was looking at, he turned a rather unattractive shade of Crimson. 

"So - _that's_ why the two of you kept blowing me off about the tracer?" Alec was in a cold anger, and with a shudder Max thought just how much he resembled Ben when he was in a mood like this. "Because you're _afraid_ he's set up a trap? Come on now Max - why don't I believe that?" Logan looked at Max. Max looked at Logan.

"Alec - we've gotten away from the familiars too many times they'll be on their guard - "

"Bullshit! You don't give a crap about things like that. You've walked UNARMED into whole enemy encampments - and you expect me to believe that you're afraid of a set up?" Alec was incredulous - his usual sarcasm coloring his voice. Max was about to shout back at him but Logan choose to step in with his usual bluntness.

"No Alec - we're afraid that Anastasia's one of them." Alec glared at Logan, but the man in the wheelchair did not back down. "You've seen the photo's. Renfro was keeping tabs on her for Sandeman - they probably suspected her. Hell - the Conclave could've been using her to feed them false information -" Alec's face had turned an unhealthy shade of white as Logan spoke. At last, he couldn't stand it any longer and slammed out of the room. Logan and Max exchanged a glance before the latter went after him.

By the time Max reached Alec he was already on his bike, about to turn the engine. "Alec wait!" Alec wanted to charge out of there but Max stood right in front of the bike, and something told him she wasn't backing down. "Just listen a minute! What Logan said - we're not giving up on her completely… we just need to be careful!"

"Careful my ass! You don't know her Max, you - "

"And from what I've heard you don't know her either!" Max and Alec stood head to head, testing wills as much as power. Finally, Alec glanced down.

"Maybe not Max, but I do know Jon. Max, if your brother - Zack - if he believed in something, someone, enough to die for it. Would you be willing to die for it to?" Max wanted to say no, to take the wind out of his sails, but unfortunately she couldn't bring herself to lie. Zack had been their leader, she trusted him with her life. Before he'd been brainwashed she'd probably trusted Zack more than she trusted Logan.

"Yes."

"Well Jon's my equivalent of Zack. My brother, my friend, the one _I_ trust. He died protecting her Max, that's good enough for me." She understood then, she saw through the façade that Manticore had taught him to wear. Max realized that even though she wanted to shove Alec's head down a toilet more than not; he _was_ the same as one of her brothers or sisters. 

"Twelve hours. We'll go in for her then." Max pleaded, hoping he'd accept that explanation, Alec only nodded before turning on his bike and flying out of there. This time, Max got out of the way.

***

The little boy's face was open and trusting, yet the sketch was secretive, as if beneath the lines of the pencil there was another child hiding. In Ana's hands it steadily became more lifelike as the winds outside grew fiercer, howling more insistently against the windows. Begging entrance, demanding surrender from those whom ignored it.

Beside Ana a glass of red wine seemed to ripple in time to the almost anguished melodies White played upon the piano in the other room. She understood now that Dave had not been lying to her the previous night, too many of Ames' actions and too many of her own memories told her otherwise. This morning she had taken out the landscape she'd began the previous evening, but rather then finishing it she had stared at it for long questioning moments until at last the lines took color and the raindrops began sliding down the glass window panes.

__

It was cold and rainy that morning, but not a single person in the small log cabin noticed. Most simply weren't awake, others simply didn't care, in Ana's room the day was warm with the vibrancy of love. Ames' arms clutched her tightly, holding her almost too close for comfort. The still silence of the room was filled with only the sound of raindrops and for a moment she allowed herself to think that this would never change.

"We've broken all the rules." The words were whispered against Ana's ears, the breath that carried them tickling the edge of her neck.

"I don't care." Ana spoke loudly, daring anyone to hear, daring Ames to silence her, daring the conclave to challenge her. His arms settled more comfortably around her, one hand resting comfortably on the gentle softness of her stomach.

For long moments they listened to the rain outside. Both a little scared to break the silence around them, frightened of facing the uncertain future that lay ahead of them, the long fickle years ahead of them. The long many moments and miles that would separate them, the beliefs and challenges that would be forced upon them. 

She had thought she didn't care then, that so long as he was beside her she would be all right. Apparently she'd been wrong. She couldn't remember who or what had separated them, couldn't remember what had happened, but something had separated them, caused them to deny each other's existence for twenty odd years. "What are you drawing?" Startled from her reverie, the sketch almost slipped from Ana's hands, behind her Ames had walked into the room and was attempting to glance over her shoulder. As she slid the book shut the picture she had been drawing from fell out. Deftly, Ames caught it before it hit the ground. For a long moment the room was silent as he looked at the photograph, Ames' face grew tight with grief and anger while Ana thought up a probable lie. "Where did you get this?" 

"I found it in the study… in the back of a book." White didn't look at Ana, staring hard at the photo. He didn't remember this picture very well; in fact he wasn't sure he'd ever seen it, but then again after the transgenics got out he hadn't been home very much. "Is he your son?" The question sounded ridicules to Ames' ears - who else would he have a photo of? But he reminded himself that she had no idea what his life had been like the last few years, with something akin to guilt he nodded acknowledgment. "And the first two?" Ames remembered well Anastasia's aversion to killing children, remembered that it was the one thing she'd never be able to forgive of the conclave.

"She miscarried." Ana did not ask who 'she' was and he didn't volunteer the information. At that moment a helicopter passed above, flooding the room with light.

__

You'll remember me when the west wind moves  
Upon the fields of barley  
You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky  
As we walk in fields of gold

The wind that blew Ana's hair away from her face came not from the sky but from the whirling of propeller blades above her head. Dave, Crissy, and the others were already strapped inside the helicopter ready to leave. Sandeman stood by the door, his hand held out to her; trapped in a silent tableau. Ana looked at that hand, but rather then take it she shook her head violently and backed away from the door, motioning for them to move out. "Go damn it!" by some miracle the words reached Sandeman and reluctantly he backed away from the helicopter door; slamming it shut. As they rose into the air Anastasia looked up and gave them one last goodbye signal, wondering if she'd made the right choice. A thud suddenly sounded behind Ana, causing her to turn with surprise, not expecting anyone else to be out here at this time of night.

The door that led to the roof had slammed open and familiars wearing black filed out with guns, most pointed at her some at the retreating helicopter above. The sight shocked her; they had been so sure no one knew of tonight's escape. She ran toward the edge of the roof and was halted in her track by a cold biting voice. "You disappoint me Anastasia… you could've been great." Before her the high priestess emerged in full ceremonial dress, a cool malicious smile graced her face. Her tone made Ana shudder, and unconsciously she backed away. "Now you'll be a memory… after you've told us where the others have gone of course." She reached forward with one arm but Ana hissed and backed away, whatever retort she had meant to give died away on her lips and caused her to stumble backwards. The priestess feigned surprised, looking behind her to see who stood there. "Ah… Ames! I see you've come to watch your game play out." Ana had continued to stumble backwards until she reached the edge of the roof. 

"Why?" The word first came out as a whisper, so small that no one heard. "WHY?" The second came out as a strangled sob, loud enough for him to hear. "WHY DID YOU BETRAY US?" By this point Ana screamed, a wild look having entered her eyes, she stepped forward towards the priestess and fearing that look the priestess signaled her men to shoot. Only one bullet hit Ana, but it was enough so that the impact could be seen. The shot had been true, she bleed from her stomach, but Ana kept on walking backwards. "How could you?" Her question was for Ames, he had become the only object in her line of sight. When she reached the roof this time, she didn't stop walking but continued to back away. "How could you?" The words, she knew, were not loud enough for anyone to hear, but in the next moments, the world dropped away from her and everything faded into oblivion.

"Ana?" Ames' hands rested lightly on her arms, his touch warm. In the brief moment that light had flooded the room Ana had fallen deep into a trance, now as she came out of it, something between despair and loathing came into her eyes. 

"You betrayed me." Her words didn't register at first - how could they when he had denied their existence for so long? "You betrayed all of us." Very suddenly she pushed him away, causing him to stumble backwards. But he recovered quickly and grabbed her before she could run out of the room, reeling her back into the window seat, miraculously she didn't fall through the glass. Ames didn't understand what was going through Ana's mind, couldn't possibly know that se struggled because her mind was still trapped in the panic of the memory. She tried to struggle out of his grasp as he held her there, but he was the stronger and better trained of the two. Afraid that her struggling might cause him to accidentally throw her out the window, Ames pulled her off of the window seat violently, letting the impact of knocking into the ground hit her full force, stunning her long enough so that he could pin her beneath him. "You let them kill me." It was an odd thing to say - how could they have killed her if she lay here now? Ames heard, but rather then reply he stroked her hair knowing that words would not be enough to apologize to her. He kissed her instead, as if he could with that motion take away the guilt that he had buried years before. Glass had cut into his arm, his blood mixing with the red wine that had spilled from the broken glass, but he didn't notice the wound any more then he dared notice Ana's tears. 

In Ana's mind, his kiss was like that bullet hitting her again, another lie spoken by a silver tongue. In her eyes it was the reeling sky that filled her vision as she fell. She felt more confused then ever, she was so sure she loved him but equally sure she hated him. Wondering why, if he'd betrayed her once, he hadn't turned her into the conclave a second time. The image of him appearing behind the priestess that night was seared into her mind. In fact she could still feel the warmth of blood against her side, and it wasn't until a long moment had passed that she registered the blood was not her own but his.

__

So she took her love  
For to gaze awhile  
Upon the fields of barley  
In his arms she fell as her hair came down  
Among the fields of gold

Ana wanted to push him away, to punish him for his betrayals, but like a child she could do little more then cry against his shoulder once he had released her lips and shifted their weight so that he lay on his side instead of on top of her. After many minutes that passed like so many seconds he wiped her tears away and lifted her lips to his own once more. Perhaps to prevent her from speaking, perhaps hoping he could stop her from remembering. 

Ames was disgusted with himself for doing what he did now, feeling as if he were manipulating her by trying to distance her from the memory, to make her forget what she had just remembered. Though he tried to deny it, a part of him enjoyed feeling how she needed him to support her weight, to hold her still. Her crying bothered him though, he had always hated making her cry. With his free hand, he began stroking her hair, tangling his fingers in the long black tresses.

Ana knew what he was doing, she remembered too well how he would distract her from her anger and pain with the pleasure of kisses and caresses. Nausea arose in her throat and she wanted badly to shove him out the window behind him, to push him through the shards of glass and watch him fall through the air as he had once watched her plunge from the sky. Yet for some reason, she couldn't move, couldn't make the one small motion required of her. She loathed his deceptions, loathed herself for not having realized sooner just why he had kept her around, yet even so she couldn't push him away, her body welcoming his touch instead. Her heart erasing their past, pushing away the part of her mind that told her she was doing this for the sake of her assignment. 

__

Will you stay with me will you be my love  
Among the fields of barley  
We'll forget the sun in his jealous sky  
As we lie in fields of gold

"Ana?" The small whisper against her ear came as a question, and Ana did not need to wonder what he was asking permission for. To deny him would be easiest, after everything that had happened the word 'no' was what should've come most naturally, but saying no would mean having to deal with the memories that had come for the rest of the night. Saying no would mean being left alone with her thoughts, and tonight thinking was the last thing she wanted to do. Thinking might make her realize that she hadn't been herself for many days, that the time she'd spent in this place, with him, had drained much of the life out of her. That the woman standing here now was a pathetic confused wimp in comparison to the strong calculating one who had stood here three days ago. 

Almost reluctantly she nodded into his chest, letting him help her up onto her feet and lead her out of the room. Pushing away all warning bells and common sense, when they came to her door, he paused but she kept on going, stopping at the door to his room. She looked up at him, and he realized that it was a test of trust. She would give him what he wanted - but she needed to know he trusted her. Or at least that's how he interpreted it. Never once did it cross his mind that she was using him to gain entrance to his room. That in her heart of hearts she felt as if she were selling her soul for the safety of the other deflectors. That in her heart she couldn't tell if it was love or desperate loathing that consumed her and made her swallow her pride. Once they were surrounded by the unilluminated tranquility of his room she gently removed his tie, thoughts of strangling him flitting through her mind only briefly. Defeated by the gentleness of his lips and the soft burning feeling left by his hands. The sensations of the flesh burying the screams of her mind. Testing her confusion tolerance.

In the still air there was the gentle breath of night even through the steel walls, the velvet breeze of autumn even trough the closed windows. The heartbeat Ana felt against her own was fast but steady, much like her own. It throbbed against her own pulse, humming through her skin into her blood. In the darkness his eyes bore into her soul, questioning that her forgiveness would come so quickly, drilling through all her deceptions towards her real reasons.

In his eyes the present vanished, the past disappeared and the future ceased to exist. In his eyes she found a loneliness to match her own despair and a love that she had sought and not found many years before. His hands wondered slowly down her body once the dress she'd been wearing fell to the ground. His touch unbearably hot to her icy pale skin, melting away all common sense and logical thought, forcing her mind into a nearly oblivious haze.

__

See the west wind move like a lover so  
Upon the fields of barley  
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth  
Among the fields of gold

_The club was crowded, pulsing with the rhythm of music being played too loudly. At the table where she sat, Ana barely noticed. She was laughing at something Crissy had said about her brother, acting flirty with some random human just to annoy Ames who she knew was at the next table. This was training mission; meant to teach them how to keep their cool amongst enemies. Ana didn't see much use the exercise, but she did enjoy the opportunity it offered to loosen up a bit. "I bet you sing like an angel." The complement the human man sitting beside her gave was unwelcome, but it did ring true._

"You'd win." Ana took a sip of drink and turned to Crissy as if to say 'pesky little things aren't they'. The human was taken aback at Ana's lack of modesty and despite all his earlier attentions to her he decided to humble her.

"Really? Do prove it will you?" Everyone looked annoyed at this; they hid it fairly well, picking up cups and the like but Dave noticed and decided to make things a bit more entertaining so as to keep the familiars on task, in character. 

"Yeah Ana sing. In fact, I'll bet that little twit sitting next to you $100 that you'll be encored." The human smiled at this, no one had been encored yet, the money was as good as his. He shook Dave's hand to seal it and Ana walked to the stage amidst loud cheering. Faintly she heard Crissy say: "I'll double that bet you made with my brother." 

The moment her voice rung out over the speaker system, every familiar in the house, about a hundred in all, turned to look at her in silence. Even a few humans paused for a second to see who had captured such a large amount of attention. At her table, the human looked about and groaned dishing out three hundred dollars even though she was only halfway through the first verse. 

Across the room she saw Sandeman sit down besides Ames, she watched them with interest - nearly fudging up a few lyrics in the process. She hoped that Sandeman wouldn't mention that he'd seen her vomit earlier, she'd made up the excuse that she'd drank to much but neither he nor Ames were the type to buy easy explanations. Thinking about this, she began hoping that the waves of nausea she'd felt tonight wouldn't overtake her while she was onstage for all to see - the familiars would insist the priestess see her and there were some things even Ana didn't know how to hide. It bothered her that she couldn't hear their conversation; but she simply hadn't the training to filter out the thousand and one other sounds that filled the cavernous room. 

Suddenly she saw Ames start, turning to her with an almost stubborn determination in his eyes. She saw him move his lips in Sandeman's direction, but his gaze stayed locked on her. She could see love there; open adoration and a promise of loyalty that might as well have been spoken and without even seeing herself she knew that an answering promise could be seen in her own gaze.

I never made promises lightly  
And there have been some that I've broken  
But I swear in the days still left  
We'll walk in fields of gold  
We'll walk in fields of gold

When Ana awoke she didn't move or cry out, in her ear she could hear Ames' even breathing, against her body his skin served as a searing reminder of what she had done. A silent tear slipped from her eye, showing just how much she despised herself for having manipulated his love the way she had, for greeting the memory of his betrayal with not only regret, bit relief. Using it to justify her actions instead of understanding his. Her dreams that night had been disconcerting fragmented memories that felt like tips of icebergs. 

She felt him awaken beside her, but didn't move because she couldn't face him just now. For she feared that at a glance he would unmask her. The human half of her was heartbroken, knowing that she had once loved Ames and that he had chosen to betray her but the familiar side of her was in pain, crying out as much for vengeance as for love. She kept still and after a moment of stroking her hair he seemed to decide to let her sleep and gathered some clothing from his dresser silently closing the door behind him as he walked out. Ana lay still a half an hour more until she was sure that he was gone, then rose on unsteady feet. 

In the bathroom she glanced at herself in the mirror, to confused to recognize the face looking back at her. The nauseous feel of her memories returned then, making her unsteady on her feet. Quite suddenly her vision swam away. Replaced by an image of breaking glass and a sensation of falling through the air, seeing only a narrow field of stars above. Unable to control herself she retched into the sink, a quiet unmistakable loathing filling her. She felt low, as if she'd sold some part of herself in order to get what she needed despite the fact that she did in truth love Ames. 

Needing to feel cleansed Ana did the next best thing to confession; she took a burning hot shower and then got to work. 

Unwilling to touch the clothing she'd worn the previous night, Ana wrapped herself only in a towel as she glanced about Ames bedroom in daylight. Besides the bed there was a large desk, a computer, a place where he kept his pet snakes and the usual false alter hidden behind a bookshelf. The room was decorated in Oak furniture and tones of dark blue and black; it was interesting but unsurprising. She approached the computer and after hacking past its defenses grabbed a zip disk and began copying his hard drive. Riffling through and making note of his papers as the computer did its work.

***

"Now Max!" Alec and Max stood yelling in hushed whispers amongst the lockers of Jam Pony as Original Cindy kept watch.

"No! You said twelve hours damn it - so give me twelve hours." Cindy coughed and Max turned to rifling through the contents of her book bag for a few moments. "And it's only 8:00 AM anyway, we need to be sure he's not home when we go in for her. Or weren't you paying attention in strategic class?"

"Oh that - I was too busy staring at the teachers legs." Max glared at Alec, wondering how he could joke about something like this. "You know - kind of like how Logan stares at yours when your pants are tight." She looked up sharply, realizing that he was just peeved they weren't mobilizing yet.

"Twelve hours is twelve hours Alec. Besides - Ames seventy-two hours aren't up for another forty minutes. It'll do him some good to be nervous for once." Grazing Alec as she walked by him Max picked up a run as if this were a morning like any other. In her life normality was what kept her grounded - even when everything normal was a pretense.

***

__

Many years have passed since those summer days  
Among the fields of barley  
See the children run as the sun goes down  
Among the fields of gold 

Ana stood in front of the mirror in her room, wearing the same dark pants and black turtleneck she had the day of her capture. The disk she'd made was secure in a sealed pocket she'd sewn into the lining of her jacket weeks ago though its presence could not be seen in the slightest. 

Her reflection was the same, only the woman in the mirror wasn't the same woman who'd been there a week ago, the strong sensible lady who was sure of her identity and emotions. In her place was girl who'd been buried and forgotten years ago, a pale hallow woman-child whose soul was too deeply scared in too many places.

What she wore now were the only items she'd been able to bring herself to touch. Everything else had broken the frozen calm she'd forced over her mind, brought back the need to remember her past, to find the answers to questions she'd completely forgotten. She had done her task and completed her mission, it was, in essence, time to leave. The past few days had been more then just emotionally draining for her, they had served to remove her from every part of her present reality by shoving her violently into the past. Walking out the front door would bring back a part of herself; yet dimly she remembered the wine glass and bloodstains in the study. Perhaps leaving could wait, for what could one last task hurt?

As she picked up the shards of glass, Ana numbly thought about her sketchbook, debating whether or not to take it with her. Not paying attention, she cut herself on a shard of glass. The blood fell on the photo of Ray, and as Ana sucked at her wound blood roared in her ears, blood soon accompanied by voices. _Come with us Ana! You can't change anything by staying! _Helicopter lights swept into her vision once more, as did Sandeman's out stretched hand. _I have to try. _Her own voice this time, she was speaking._ I can't leave without knowing what he'd say if only - _A sad sort of look from him, an almost heartbroken gaze, followed by a furrowed brow and at last understanding. _It wasn't alcohol that made you throw up that night in the club was it? And the nausea you felt during class wasn't from the cadaver… _Ana remembered looking at him, confirming his suspicions with her eyes before backing away. Like a broken damn the vanished memories buried truths flooded back into the front of her mind. 

The weight of it pressed her down, causing her to fall numbly to the ground, blood still streaming from her hand. "Oh my God." The color drained from her face and neck, her heart seemed almost to stop. "I was pregnant." Blindly she fumbled for the telephone that she knew was somewhere in the room, attached to one of the walls. Automatically dialing the first number that came to mind.

  
_You'll remember me when the west wind moves  
Upon the fields of barley  
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky  
When we walked in fields of gold  
When we walked in fields of gold  
When we walked in fields of gold_

The beeping in the lunchroom bothered Alec - Who wasn't answering their damned beeper? He glanced around at the tables around him, only to find that their occupants were glaring at him. Suddenly, quiet unpleasantly in fact, Alec realized that the beeping was coming from him, but he didn't have a beeper. _Yes I do _he suddenly remembered the bloody item Jon had pressed into his hands before dying, _its her_ he realized _it has to be._ Suddenly leaping up Alec ran for a phone, taking careful note of the number and praying that he wasn't too late this time.


	11. Ablution

AN: Well, I won't pretend to not be discouraged by the lack of reviews, but since I've punished all of you non reviewers out there by making everyone wait a month for the ending I feel better. (Sadistic _non_? =P) Now I just hope you people still want to read it. 

C

hapter 11

****

Ablution

__

I still recall the words you said to me,

It's what you did not say that sets me free.

Now how can I find peace of mind when you keep coming back again?

It's not ok for you to play this game of se saw with my heart

Now it hurts too much

And it hits too hard

And I won't play this part.

"Sector four. Three PM. Bring Anastasia. You want your son alive, keep your damned familiars out of this." The line clicked dead as suddenly as it had come alive. Surrounded by federal agents and other humans White utilized his best acting skills in order to keep calm, muttering something about 'damned prank callers' that caused those around him to laugh before returning calmly to what he had been previously doing. Five agitated minutes crawled by, slowly came another five in which his heart beat with more intensity then he would've liked to admit. At last he excused himself and retreated to the quietness of his office, hoping that enough time had passed so that no one would tie 494's 'prank' call to his withdrawal. 

Pulling out his cell phone Ames automatically typed in Lita's number yet he hesitated to hit the send button. By now, getting the conclave involved was inevitable, 452 had made it that way when she'd entered Ray into the equation. Whatever else he felt about her, Ames knew that 452 had a sense of honor and that if he complied with her terms he would get Ray back, and he certainly felt no qualms about Ana's safety amongst her own. Unfortunately, if Ray were returned to him suddenly he would owe the conclave an explanation, and an explanation that would involve Ana was an explanation he could not afford to give. In the most fanciful parts of his mind he imagined that Ana would choose to stay by his side and that they would escape the Conclave and everything that stood between them. In his boyish daydream it all seemed a great adventure, a noble sacrifice made at the alter of love, however he was well aware that the conclave would end his life before he ever had the opportunity to make such an escape. More importantly he knew that Ana would never abandon her people as he would the cult.

If he dialed Lita he would have to tell the council everything and have them lie in wait of 452 so that they could kill her and her compatriots. If it were anyone but Ray being offered to him this is the choice he would made, but he was well aware that this would mean risking both Ray and Ana in the crossfire. It would also mean having to explain to the conclave that he had kept Ana from them for three days. 

At last his mind would itself around a desperate plan, a plan that would open himself to accusations of treason, one that might ensure Rays safety and give Ana a chance to escape - or kill them both. With determination that boarded upon desperation he hit the send button ignoring the maybes his mind sent toward him. The 'maybe' that 452 didn't have Ray, the 'maybe' that Ana's capture had been planned, and that 'maybe' this wasn't an exchange of hostages, but a dangerous game in which mice trapped cats, and _he_ was the cat.

***

Alec hung up the pay phone he had been using and nodded once to Max parked across the street. Immediately, the sedan she had 'borrowed' came alive and she sped out of his vision. Putting on his helmet he too raced out of the sector as fast as possible - in the opposite direction. Once past the cheek point he immediately stopped, soon after an inconspicuous black SUV pulled up beside him. The window went down to reveal Logan Kale.

"Ready?" Logan's voice held an edge to it, a steel edge that reflected the one in Alec's eyes, hidden behind his helmet.

"Ready." As soon as the words were spoken the two parted company. Each of the three allies headed in a different direction, all supposedly serving one plan, each with a purpose slightly different then the other. But sadly, of the three, only one had any vague idea of what was _really_ about to happen and unfortunately even that one had been badly misinformed.

***

Max glanced about the quiet and abandoned warehouse. With something akin to a shudder she thought that the place felt like a mausoleum. This was the same place that Mia had led her too a few weeks past, since then Max had discovered that a good number of people avoided it like the plague; apparently urban legend had the place down as a Mafia execution chamber. Glancing about, she found that it was no lighter in daytime than it was in the evening. As she looked up at the rafters she tried to find a place where she could hide without being seen by anyone with the vision of an X series or better, after a full ten minutes she finally discovered a place where she could see below without being seen. Almost silently, she settled herself into her hiding place.

After making sure she was secure and easily able to reach the cell phone Alec had given her she glanced at her watch; 11:30, that left at least four hours until game time yet somehow her heart began to beat faster. This was about more than just getting Anastasia away from White, it was about finding Sandeman and possibly salvaging her relationship with Logan. 

Yet what unsettled her was that she still didn't know just who Ana was, why Renfro was keeping tabs on her, why Jon was so devoted to her, and why everyone was so damned intent on saving her from Ames White when she didn't seem to need saving. Carefully Max mentally went over everything they'd found in Joshua's house, trying to figure out just what it all insinuated but unfortunately the explanations that she and Logan had concocted thus far were the only ones that came to mind. Absently she wondered just where Sandeman was and how he fit into all of this, how two familiars could possibly fit into the seemingly hopeless plight of protecting the transgenics. Restlessly, Max removed her mind from the troubling thoughts and began to think about something even more unpleasant; what Alec and Logan considered to pass for 'a plan'. She didn't like this 'plan' one bit and had said as much to the two. Pity they didn't listen. Sighing, she settled down into her hiding place and glanced about for familiars. 

***

Ames parked his car outside of his apartment with some hesitation. Sitting inside for a second he wondered just how Ana was going to react when he walked in. Guilt mingled with apprehension and silently he cursed at himself and wondered why he was acting like such a fool. _It's not as if you're about to murder her._ His brain spoke with a cold logic and at last he got out of the car.

When he walked into the apartment Ana didn't look up which was in itself disconcerting, that she was completely focused on a bowl of something that that looked like potato soup was simply disturbing. When he sat down directly across from her at the dining room table she didn't bat an eye. Long moments passed in silence until at last she said only. "You're early." 

Ames was uncomfortable with her cold demeanor, though he didn't pretend to be confused as to its source. "Yeah well something came up." For the first time that day she looked at him and he was surprised to find none of the familiar warmth or mockery in her eyes, but only a chill aloofness which he couldn't place. "I received a phone call from X5- 494. He and another transgenic kidnapped my son a month ago. Today he offered to trade Ray for you. Provided of course that you are alive and well" Ames was surprised at his bluntness, but it seemed that Ana wasn't. 

"Oh." With this nominal response she returned to her staring and her soup. After a few moments in which Ames thought his head might burst from the silence, Ana finally spoke. "Do you love him?" It took Ames a moment to figure out that she wasn't continuing the previous conversation but referring to his son, when he did he thought that it was ludicrous she should ask such a thing. 

"Of course. I think the only person who may have cared as much about him as I did was his mother." Ana kept her eyes trained on him as she sipped her soup, and again waited before replying.

"You're speaking in past tense. Did you kill her?" She phrased it like a question, yet spoke it like a fact. And in the presence of the cold contempt in her voice Ames wasn't sure whether or not she wanted an answer.

"I… I cared about her. Loved her, even. But in the end Ray's future mattered more… I couldn't afford to jeopardize that because I'd gotten overly fond of some human. And after she was dead…. It didn't matter so much any more." 

As he spoke, Ana had risen and walked into the kitchen. Not sure what she was up to, Ames only sat still. A few moments later she returned with another bowl of soup. Placing it in front of him she made sure he was looking into her eyes as she spoke. "And yet you'd question why I deflected." Her words were acidic, her tone acrid. Ames had no idea how to reply and so he didn't. The rest of their meal was eaten in silence. 

***

At precisely one thirty PM Alec's cell phone rang twice then silenced itself. That he knew, was Max's signal. The warehouse therefore was all clear, so far no familiars or government agents had shown up. At 1:35 PM the phone rang four times and then silenced. This was Logan stating that Ames had not left his apartment yet.

Glancing at his watch, Alec was glad that they had left themselves so much time, for safety reasons Max had decided that Alec should _bike_ from sector nine into sector three while making a delivery from Jam Pony as a cover. His plea that he would be too tired to fight if he biked that far fell on deaf ears. In retribution, Alec ignored Max's request that he not pack any heat in case they searched him at a checkpoint and created trouble. 

An hour later his cell phone rang once. Alec recognized it as Logan's signal that White had begun moving. 

***

As they drove through the streets of Seattle both Ames and Ana were strangely quiet. There was an odd type of tension between them, inexplicable because there was a different reason for it from each side. As they sat in pre checkpoint traffic Ana studied her companion closely, perceiving that he seemed unable to meet her gaze. There was something he needed to know, and about a million things she needed to say, but for the life of her Ana couldn't figure out when or how to tell him any of it. At last, just when the silence had reached a breaking point White's cell phone rang.

"I hope you're in Sector Three because if you're not at the corner of Oak and 11 in fifteen minutes I'm gone." The line went dead before Ames could reply, and Ana noted with some disappointment that the voice was not Jon's but a woman who she didn't recognize.

Turning on the ignition, Ames glanced at Ana to see her reaction to the call. Was she happy to hear from the transgenics? Glad that they'd be parting company for good? Ana's face showed no emotion what so ever, and her eyes stared blankly out the window. Chillingly, Ames thought that she resembled nothing so much as a woman waiting to be executed.

Once they reached Oak and 11 Ames parked and waited for the phone to ring again. Within seconds there was a male voice on the phone relaying further directions, "Get out of the car. Open the third door down the street." In some confusion Ana identified the voice as Eyes Only's. 

"We'd better go." Startled, Ana realized that Ames had already unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door. 

"Oh." Anastasia moved slowly, her step lengthened by lethargy that stemmed from a weariness of soul. She followed Ames mindlessly, unable to identify the emotions that screamed into her muffled and frozen mind. It wasn't until the door behind her closed and she was plunged into semi darkness that she realized she had walked into a building. Her lips twisted into a semi ironic smile when she realized she had been led to a warehouse that some idiot had built into the shape of a residential building. As she cast her eye lightly over Ames she realized that the expression on his face was both apprehensive and guilty. Looking at him, she decided that now was the time to tell him what she had barely restrained herself from saying all day. Opening her mouth however, Anastasia was surprised to find that she had no voice. 

"I used to think that trust was synonymous with life. That once begun, it's something that won't stop… or disappear… or end until you died. Naive wasn't I?" Anastasia looked towards a window as she spoke, her aurora was that of one telling a story. A muse reciting a tragic epic. Ever so slightly, ever so gradually, she turned her face to Ames. "I once trusted you like that, but you betrayed me and it felt like the _world_ had betrayed me." She stopped, looking at him to see if her words conjured any emotion at all. And briefly, she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes. But the moment the mask of passive indifference returned to his face, her voice became brutally harsh.

"I suppose I ought to thank you, if it hadn't been for what you did I wouldn't have separated myself from the cult so completely. Wouldn't have stayed a part of the resistance for so long." She laughed, almost cruelly. "In fact, I ought to thank you for making me 'grow up'." Her eyes burned with a sadistic flame, her voice dripped with mockery. Briefly, Ames was reminded of the triumphant girl who had laughed at him twenty years before for being a coward. Yet as quickly as it come, her madness left, and a reflective calm seemed to settle over her.

"Do you know? The only reason I didn't get on that helicopter that night, was because I thought I could save you?" She looked sad now, and Ames began wondering if wanted to hear what she had to saw after all; if he could stand her hatred on top of the guilt he already felt. "Sandeman said that men like you didn't change - gods I wish I'd believed him." Grasping at straws, Ames desperately tried to change the subject.

"Is Sandeman still alive?" 

In the rafters, both Alec and Max had been privy to their entire conversation and while a good deal of it made absolutely no sense to them, it did shed some light upon the relationship of the two below. Anxiously, Max looked at Anastasia, willing her to answer the question White had just asked, desperately praying for the answer she needed.

"Yes. Or at least - he was." Ana raised a corner of her mouth. "You see, the others saw the priestess and her lackeys shoot at me. They saw me fall off of that building. So they came back for my corpse before the cult could get their hands on it." She paused dramatically. "Imagine their surprise when they found me still alive." She laughed. "Alive. What a joke. See, after they 'found' me Sandeman placed me in Cryogenic Stasis…. for more then fifteen years. Imagine it Ames, looking at the stars one moment, and then suddenly waking to find that the world had changed… that for _fifteen years_ you had been dead to the world."

In the rafters above and on the floor below there was a stunned silence. At last Max and Alec knew why Anastasia hadn't aged in those photographs, on the ground, Ames was doing some preliminary mathematics that didn't quite add up to what he had just been told.

"Why fifteen years? Even every bone in your body had been broken - even if he had needed to culture and transplant every nerve cell in your spinal column - if he had to clone and grow you a new heart. There's no possible way that it would've taken any more then five years at most. Not on Sandeman's level." Ames was perplexed and Ana was very suddenly very, very, cold.

"Would you like to know why?" She looked him the eye, and all Ames saw, was ice. 

"Can't you guess?" She waited. 

Silence.

"I was pregnant." 

Silence again.

"It took Sandeman fifteen years to keep _our daughter_ from dying." She looked at him again, to see if he comprehended when he seemed unable to reply she simply went on with her story. "When the pulse happened, I came out of stasis. I think I was only awake for an hour or two, but in that time… in that time Sandeman realized that I had lost my sanity thanks to your betrayal. So when I woke up, he suppressed my memory, thinking that if I never came into contact with you, that if I never remembered. I'd be ok." 

Ames didn't speak. He couldn't. 

"And now that I remember, I only want to know why." Her gaze was searching, seeking an answer. "Why betray me when all I did was love you? All I wanted was to be able to trust you." 

Above, Max was as shocked as Ames himself at the revelation that had just been made. So much so in fact that she almost missed the cars pulling up outside as it was she was a second too late and Alec, who had already spotted them, swooped onto the floor with gun in hand.

"You son of a bitch."

"Ames don't!"

Ames had heard Alec the moment he hit the ground, and drawn his gun immediately. In the split second that followed, Ana and Alec had spoken at the same instant two bullets were released from two weapons. As if in slow motion, Ames saw Anastasia step in front of him to take the gun from his hand as she shot it. As she recoiled with the shock of his bullet, he dimly felt Alec's shot graze his arm. 

Ana had caught the bullet straight in her chest, had he intended to, he couldn't have hit her with a more deadly shot. As she fell, he put an arm around her shoulders, lowering her to floor gently as he kneeled her beside her, willing her to be alive. She looked at him slightly, seeing him through fluttering lids. And with one final breath her life blood drained away. 

__

It's funny how we end up here.

I never thought I'd see this all disappear.

"Ana!" He broke the silence that had surrounded that moment, as if by call her she would awaken. 

From where he stood, Alec realized with an almost clinical interest that she was dead.

In the shadows, Max too saw this, she also saw that the outside of the building was beginning to swarm with familiars and other gunmen. Quickly, she jumped to the ground and grabbed Alec's arm, jerking him back to the present. "We need to leave - NOW!" Letting his gun clatter to the floor, Alec broke from Max's grasp and made a lunge for White. See what he was doing, Max grabbed his leg and caused them both to stumble onto the floor. 

The fall seemed to knock some sense into him, and Alec saw their predicament. With on last glance at Ana's corpse he ran for the back of the where house and the sewer entrance located there. Once underground he made a sharp left turn followed by a right. Behind him he could hear Max running in a different direction, calling his name as she went. Stopping at last he peered into the darkness waiting for the man he knew ought to be here. Wondering what would happen now. 

When he had received the page this morning, the number had now led to Ana but to a man who said he was in contact with her. He had promised that in return for Ana escaping White, he would receive the cure for Max's virus. 

"I assume it's done?" Alec started when he realized that the voice had come from behind him, turning he found himself unable to see the man who spoke. 

"Yeah, it's done." He breathed heavily, anger flaring in his eyes. "The soneofabith killed her!" 

The man with whom he spoke remained impassive. "You did what you could. The rest is hardly your fault." There was a sound of glass clicking as the man paused. "Here is my end of the bargain. Don't forget our deal" He slid a glass case carefully toward Alec who immediately bent to retrieve it. Opening the case, he found a single plastic syringe filled with a red liquid.

"So this is the cure?" When he no answer, Alec looked up to find that the man was gone. In the corner of his eye he saw the top of a silver cane disappear around a corner. To him, it strangely resembled a monkey.

***

"Alec!" Max hissed his name through her teeth for the umpteenth time as she searched around the sewer system. 

"I'm right here." Max felt a strange prickling sensation at her neck as Alec came up behind her. Raising her hand to the spot she found nothing there. Reeling around, she saw nothing in Alec's hand. Glancing at him, she saw the pained expression in his eyes.

"I'm sorry about your friend." Alec acknowledged her sympathy, but changed the subject immediately.

"I'm sorry Joshua won't be able to find his father now." Max smiled a wan smile, mentally adding a cure to the virus to the things that were no longer possible.

"It's alright." Alec stared at her for a moment.

"Have you ever considered that the virus was all a matter of time?" Max looked up surprised, wondering if Alec had read her mind. Deciding she didn't want to talk about it, she shrugged. The two of them continued in silence until they came up at where they'd agreed to meet Logan, two blocks from the Warehouse. 

The car ride to Joshua's place was a somber one, no one wanting to say anything after what had happened. As they got out of the SUV, Alec 'accidentally' jostled Max, causing her to loose her balance. Without thinking Logan reached out and caught her. 

"Oh my God." Disentangling herself from him, Max waited for Logan to fall to the ground in pain, when he didn't she blinked. "You… you're ok." Not willing to believe it, Max gave Logan another full minute, before hesitantly taking a step toward him. Several moments later, she was in his arms. Her heart in her eyes, and all the love in heart pouring out in the tears of joy she cried. Almost unbelieving himself, Logan held her as tightly ash he could.

Behind them, Alec smiled.

"Like I said. It was only a matter of time." And if he knew better, Alec certainly wasn't going to say anything about it.

*** 

It might've been the first snow of winter, the floating white flakes falling as gently as an angel's tears. Up high in one of Seattle's cold stone buildings a woman watched them float to the ground with a frigid raging anguish. She appeared to be tranquil and serene as she stood in the window of an empty apartment. "You were right you know." She spoke to an elderly man behind her, one who leaned heavily on what was once a purely decorative cane. "I never should have stayed." They had been speaking for the good part of an hour, and by now her control was beginning to wear thin. Grimly she watched three men carry a cold corpse out of a building nearly a block away. One of them with a cold expression of grief written in his eyes. 

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Sandeman lay his hand on the woman's shoulder as he spoke; the weight of his arm a strong reassuring pressure. He couldn't see her eyes behind the dark sunglasses she wore, but he could sense her regret. The woman stared intently at the men carrying the dead woman and Sandeman was left staring at her black and copper colored hair. Her eyes focused in on one of the men in particular and even a half a block away she could see the tightening of his muscles as he gently carried the body from the stretcher into the car that had come for it. He made sure that her long black hair didn't touch the dirty street, that her pale white skin was protected from the cold she could no longer feel. 

Somewhere else in the apartment the laughter of two children could be heard, their voices bringing a fresh wave of tears toward eyes that refused to cry. The woman stood tall in her black pantsuit and lilac colored turtleneck, her newly cut and highlighted hair falling to just above her shoulders. She was no longer the Anastasia Sandeman had once known so well, the gentle but driven girl he'd watch grow up into a determined and loyal woman. "I wanted so badly to be able to trust him. How could I know it would end like this?" Her voice almost broke, and Sandeman didn't answer her question, knowing that he'd only remind her of what had happened last time she had kept faith in Ames White. Yet even so he understood that her heart still cried for him, as Ames did for her. How Ironic that they who loved each other so much hurt each other so badly.

"Don't blame yourself Anastasia. Anya had leukemia; her death was imminent. At least this way she knew she was dying for a cause, she understood that when the two of you switched places this morning." This time Anastasia did cry, if only a single tear to grieve the passing of her clone. 

"God… how many more have to die like this? Because of my mistakes?" Sandeman moved closer to her, holding her as a father might his grieving daughter. "First Jon, now Anya. How many more?" His touch seemed to shatter the ice around her and she cried in earnest now, soft choked up sobs. 

"Wars have casualties Anastasia, we all loose comrades." She still cried but less now, her tears back under control. "I'm just glad you're not one of them." Anastasia looked up at him, a little confused. "You've got a little girl and boy to raise, that's why I came to Seattle yesterday. As soon as I got Dave's call in fact." Anastasia's grateful smile was half hearted as she dried her eyes with her hands, removing and replacing her sunglasses swiftly. Seeing this Sandeman immediately changed his tone from fatherly to business like. "I've arranged for you and the kids to fly to Vancouver, Dave's already there. He's already bought an apartment for you, Crissy will sell this one." Anastasia nodded, not quite listening. 

"Mommy, mommy!" A five-year-old bundle of energy ran into the room and flung herself into Anastasia's arms with a warm smile and a kiss. Ana held her daughter tightly, loving her dearly though she was a constant reminder of the mistakes she'd made. With familiar blood from both sides, Kiera was abnormally intelligent for a child her age, but physically she was also incredibly frail. "Mommy, look what I found!" Little Kiera raised her hand high and let a silver locket dangle from a slim chain. "Can I keep it?" Peering closely at the locket Anastasia saw the letters 'AA' engraved on it. She stiffened slightly, and her pallor immediately altered. On the ground by her feet a little boy with piercing blue eyes noticed the change.

"What's wrong mother?" Anastasia looked down and saw her recently adopted son gazing at her with his father's eyes. She knew it was difficult for him to call her 'mother' but slowly she could tell that he was beginning to not only trust her, but love her as well. He was cautiously beginning to let go of the life he had previously led and Anastasia could tell that her four-day disappearance had worried him.

"Nothing dear." She smiled despite the sorrow that the locket had brought on and set Kiera back onto the ground. "Your father gave this to me you know." For a moment the two kids wondered which of them she had spoken to, it never occurred to Kiera or Ray that she spoke to both of them. Unclasping the locket Anastasia put it around Kiera's neck, happy to see the expression of true joy the action seemed to bring. "Now why don't the two of you go play for awhile? Grandpa Sandeman and I have a few more things to discuss." Each child gave her a peck on the cheek and returned to their game of randomly chasing each other around. As she watched them go Anastasia appeared to be far more troubled then before.

"What do I tell them when… What do I say to my children when they ask about their father?" She murmured the question to herself, not expecting an answer. "Do I tell them that he's a killer? That I was foolish enough to love him?" Anastasia's brow drew together in worry, and her hands tightened till her nails bore red crescents into the palm of her hand.

"Ray is old enough to come to his own conclusions, and Kiera will probably think that Jon was her father. You may not have ever been involved with him, but a four year old won't think that. He was your bodyguard for many years Anastasia, and he'd probably been around for as long as she can remember. He probably bought her ice cream and took her to the park, she'll grow up thinking that Jon did all those things a father's supposed to." Anastasia nodded, grief again tightening her chest. 

"But if she ever asks? If they ask?" 

"If they ask though, once they're old enough, tell them the truth." 

The truth. How simple it seemed, but Anastasia knew it wouldn't be. Suddenly she moved her hand over her stomach, a wave of nausea overtaking her. _Oh dear God…. Please no…_For the first time it occurred to her that she might be pregnant again, that perhaps the fates had played another cruel trick by giving her another of Ames White's children. _Dear God, how would I explain this one?_ Sandeman saw her sway on her feet, and while he didn't identify the cause he could tell that she wouldn't be able to stand much more of the mental anguish she was currently subject to. Quietly he suggested they leave for the airport. 

Anastasia heard him, but didn't answer. Her mind was with Ames White where he stood in the snow. For the first time she aknowledged that she would have to leave Seattle behind, leave him behind, and somehow saying goodbye a second time was that much harder for her. Once, she had thought her heart was broken by betrayal. Now, she knew that it wasn't his treason that had hurt but his love. So perhaps, if she left love behind… if she left everything behind, perhaps then she'd be able to feel again, to live again. Gently, ever so gently, she placed a kiss from her hand onto the cold glass of the window, with it she transported all of the emotions she had ever felt for Ames White. "Fenas'tol." And like the snowflakes, perhaps they would fall onto the cold granite ground to be buried, frozen, and someday forgotten.

__

I'll always know down in my soul we really had so far to go

I've given all I have to give and now it's time for me to live

And I won't look back

And I won't regret

Though it hurts like hell

Someday I will forget

~Fini~

Close notes: I'm sorry that the section about Max receiving the cure was so short, but I'd originally intended this piece as a starting place for another more Max/Logan centered piece. As it is, I believe I will be leaving this as is. I hope every enjoyed this and thanks to those that reviewed for all the positive encouragement. :) 


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